CONMAN canoeist John Darwin is facing the prospect of losing his pension as police attempt to recoup the money he gained when he faked his death, as a court heard he has only repaid £122.

The 63-year-old, who was jailed with his wife Anne in 2008 for fraud, appeared at Teesside Crown Court for a brief Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) hearing today (Tuesday, April 8).

A judge has previously ordered he should repay £679,073 but divorced Darwin, who is claiming benefits, has only been able to hand back £122 since the original POCA ruling was made in 2009.

The Crown has now applied for him to repay more, as a pension has matured.

A hearing to decide the matter will be held in May when the North East Regional Asset Recovery Team will attempt to reclaim any extra money that becomes available to Darwin as a result of any pension windfall.

The court heard how Darwin struggles to survive on £145 per week as the only income he has coming in is from the Department for Work and Pensions.

Darwin, of Seaton Carew, did not speak during the brief hearing before Judge Howard Crowson.

Anne Darwin, now split from her husband, has repaid more than £500,000 under a separate Proceeds of Crime order.

In December, Darwin was jailed again after he travelled to the Ukraine to find a new wife because the journey was undertaken without Probation Service permission. He was still on licence after being sentenced to six years and three months for the canoe fraud.

Darwin, a former prison officer, was reported missing after going canoeing in the North Sea in March 2002.

His wife collected more than £500,000 in life insurance payouts, while he hid in their home, leaving their two sons to believe he was dead.

In December 2007, Darwin walked into a London police station, claiming he had amnesia, and was reunited with his sons who were stunned to hear he was alive.

His wife, who had fled with him to Panama, pretended to be shocked until a photograph emerged of them posing together after his supposed death.

She was later jailed for six-and-a-half-years for fraud and money-laundering.