A notorious jailbreaker who famously broke out of Durham Prison in 1968 has died, aged 82, following a heart attack.

John McVicar rose to fame during a police manhunt after he broke out of the ‘escape-proof’ E wing of Durham’s prison.

The former armed robber went on to write an autobiography and inspire a film about his story.

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He passed away last month on September 6.

Born in London he was once considered the most dangerous man in Britain and escaped from a coach taking him to Parkhurst Prison in 1966. He was on the run for four months and on recapture was taken to Durham Prison.

But McVicar wasn't in for long as, on October 29, 1968, he achieved the unthinkable, an escape from  Durham Prison’s E-Wing.

The Northern Echo: How the Northern Echo reported on John McVicar's escape from Durham Prison on July 18, 1968. Picture: NORTHERN ECHO ARCHIVEHow the Northern Echo reported on John McVicar's escape from Durham Prison on July 18, 1968. Picture: NORTHERN ECHO ARCHIVE (Image: ARCHIVE)

The E-Wing was developed in 1961 after the Government started to take action against prison escapes and decided Durham would hold some of the country's most difficult prisoners and particularly those prone to escape. A specially-prepared wing, described as "a prison within a prison" was developed. It would become the famous E-Wing and was thought to be escape-proof.

In his book McVicar told how he chipped his way through the brick wall of a shower room, replacing bricks with papier mache replicas.

Read more: The man who escaped Durham’s E-Wing

After working his way into a ventilation shaft, he entered the exercise yard and made his escape over the roof. Two convicts who attempted to leave with him were captured immediately.

After jumping the prison wall, McVicar found himself in unfamiliar surroundings, but in his autobiography, McVicar by Himself, he gives a heart-racing description of the streets and features that he encountered during his night-time escape.

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Soon he was in open countryside to the east where police last reported seeing him. Roadblocks were set up that caused tailbacks stretching towards Sunderland but McVicar was well away from the roads.

McVicar worked his way through the open countryside around Plawsworth and finally arrived in Chester-le-Street where he contacted friends in London from a call box. A number of locals had spotted him in the area and the police set up a search headquarters at Chester Moor, but he was never found in County Durham.

The Northern Echo: John McVicar in 1996. Picture: PA/NORTHERN ECHO ARCHIVEJohn McVicar in 1996. Picture: PA/NORTHERN ECHO ARCHIVE (Image: PA)

He had slept the night in a car parked in a suburban garage before he was picked up in another car by friends who took him back to London. He remained on the run until two years later when he was captured in 1970.

McVicar was finally released from prison in 1978. Two years later his life and escape from Durham became the subject of a film starring Roger Daltrey. It was simply entitled McVicar.

After being released he became a journalist, writing for the Sunday Times, Guardian, Punch, New Statesman, Time Out and Spiked.

McVicar later ended up back in court when world-champion sprinter Linford Christie won a libel claim against his allegations that he took performance-enhancing drugs to cheat his way to the top.

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