A RUNAWAY sex offender and his family have been cleared by a jury of conspiring to keep him out of the clutches of authorities in the UK.

Fugitive pervert Frank Burgon fled from Hartlepool to Turkey when he was due to go on trial for the second time at Teesside Crown Court. He bought a £27,500 yacht and was finally arrested in the Canary Islands in 2014 when neighbours at his "hideaway" apartment became suspicious.

It was alleged that the 79-year-old conspired with his brother, his partner and his brother's daughter to stay at large for almost a year.

Burgon was picked up by Spanish police in Gran Canaria after being collected by brother George at an airport as he tried to dodge justice.

He was jailed for almost four years in 2014 when he admitted indecent assault, breach of bail and failing to comply with sex offender rules.

In 2010, he was locked up for 18 months and put on the register when he was convicted of abusing a young boy, Judge Simon Phillips, QC, heard.

The prosecution claimed Burgon and his relatives conspired together to keep him outside of the jurisdiction of UK authorities and avoid trial.

Barrister Paul Newcombe told the jury: "If you are a fugitive and you have already served one term in jail, you don't want another."

But the panel found all four people not guilty of perverting the course of justice.

Burgon, now living in a bail hostel in Borough Road, Middlesbrough, looked relieved at the verdict, alongside partner Christine Officer.

Ms Officer, 63, of Bruntoft Avenue, Hartlepool, George Burgon, 77, and Alison Connor, 52, both of nearby Dalton Piercy, also denied the charge.

Frank Burgon told the jury that Ms Officer "wasn't best pleased" when he told her he had bought the yacht, Lady Calypso, while he was abroad.

When he was asked by Mr Newcombe what she thought of him splashing the money on it, he said: "I won't say the words. She wasn't very happy."