THE father of a canoeist who turned up more than five years after he was believed to have drowned wept tears of joy last night after learning his son was alive.

John Darwin's red canoe was found smashed on a beach near his home in Seaton Carew, Hartlepool, in March 2002, following a search operation.

His wife and two sons presumed the prison officer and former teacher had died - but he walked into a London police station on Saturday and told officers he was a missing person.

Although he never gave up hope, the missing man's father, Ronald, had begun to wonder if he would ever see him again.

Last night, the 90-year-old fought back tears as he said: "I never thought this day would come. It's hard to say how much it means."

Mr Darwin revealed he had his suspicions his son might not have drowned when rescuers failed to find a body.

Speaking at his home in Blackhall Colliery, County Durham, he said: "John went missing so long ago, and no one ever thought he would be found.

"I always said to the police that there might be more to this than it appeared at first.

"When his canoe was found but he wasn't, it didn't seem right.

"When he was a little boy of five, in Blackhall Colliery, he was knocked down by a car a few doors down. I thought I'd lost him then as well, but he was all right."

Father-of-two John Darwin's disappearance from the beach opposite his Seaton Carew home sparked an air-sea rescue search.

Searchers found debris, including the shattered remains of his kayak, six weeks after he went missing.

Following his reappearance, John Darwin, 57, has since been reunited with his sons, Mark, 31, and Anthony, 29, but his wife, Anne, recently emigrated after selling the couple's home.

Seaton councillor David Young said he was not surprised that Mr Darwin had reappeared. Local fishermen had told him that, because the tides at Hartlepool and Redcar had not washed up a body, "we will either never see him again or he wasn't in the water".

Detectives from Cleveland Police will speak to Mr Darwin today.

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Beddow said: "We are pleased Mr Darwin has been located and any interviews with him are a matter of procedure.

"This has been a long-running inquiry for Cleveland Police, and officers from the inquiry team hope to speak to Mr Darwin, to

establish his whereabouts during the past five-and-a-half years."

Dave Cammish, of Redcar Lifeboat, which co-ordinated the search for Mr Darwin, said: "We are glad at the news because it was totally unexpected, though bizarre.

"There is no resentment, but curiosity as to what on earth has gone on."

Tom Waller, 60, said: "I'm a member of the Hartlepool Coastwatch and I always wondered how it was he went missing when the sea was so flat. The sea was like a millpond."

Mr Darwin's wife moved out of their Seaton Carew house on October 19.

New owner John Duffield said: "She dropped the keys off at the estate agents on the Thursday. We went round on the Friday and she had gone.

"When she went I do not know, but she left quite a bit of stuff behind. And there is no forwarding address for her mail, which I am still getting."

Mrs Darwin told neighbours that she was emigrating to Jamaica.

Police visited the house yesterday. A spokeswoman said: "The new landlord told the police he had a lot of post and the officers who called were just passing."

The Darwins, who met in Blackhall Rocks, east Durham, bought their house on The Cliff, in Seaton Carew, for their retirement.

Mr Darwin was a science teacher in Consett, County Dur-ham, after studying chemistry and biology at the De Salle College, Manchester.

He then worked for Barclays Bank before joining the Prison Service, working at Holme House Prison, Stockton.