Ex-warden Darwin 'beaten in jail'

He was reportedly punched several times in the face and nose by a fellow prisoner, just days after he was transferred to Everthorpe jail in East Yorkshire earlier this month.

The 58-year-old was jailed in July at Teesside Crown Court for six years and three months after admitting faking his own death in a canoeing accident to allow his wife, Anne, to make fraudulent insurance and pension claims.

A Prison Service spokeswoman said: "A prisoner was treated by Everthorpe prison healthcare staff on September 7 following an assault by another prisoner."

The attack took place because Darwin used to work as a warden at Holme House prison in Stockton, according to the Hartlepool Mail.

A prison source told the paper: "After a paedophile, the next worst thing to be in prison is an ex-screw. He is always going to be an easy target for attack."

John Darwin faked his death in 2002 in the sea close to the home he shared with his wife in Seaton Carew near Hartlepool.

The couple fled to Panama once Mrs Darwin had straightened out their perilous finances when the fraudulently claimed insurance money came through.

She also cashed in the couple's 12-home property portfolio and had set about making a new life in Central America when Mr Darwin suddenly handed himself in at a London police station in November last year.

His claims to be suffering amnesia did not stand up to the huge international scrutiny which the incredible story swiftly generated.