AN employment tutor found the perfect job when he was thrust into the role of one of Britain’s most notorious gangsters for a few hours.

Kevin Greenwood played the role of armed robber John McVicar for a TV documentary recalling the hardman’s sensational escape from Durham Prison in 1968.

Until he was spotted by Australian film-makers who called into the Working Links office in Claypath, Durham City, the lead tutor had never heard of McVicar and thought they were after one of his clients.

But he jumped at the chance of appearing on camera, and trawled the Internet to find out all he could about the gangster.

Rising at 4am while the city was quiet, he relished the role and was filmed recreating McVicar’s route through Durham – jumping off a wall near the prison, running through back streets, hiding in St Oswald’s cemetery and even taking a dip in the River Wear which McVicar swam to shake off police search dogs.

The 1968 police never caught up with McVicar, who was the country’s most wanted man until he was tracked down in London two years later, but this time the crew found themselves having to explain what they were doing to an early morning patrol.

Mr Greenwood, who is 36 and from Sunderland, said: “I told the Australian bloke I’d give it a go. I thought he wanted one of the clients, but I didn’t want to miss out on an opportunity like that.

“They filmed me running towards some steps and I had to hide behind a bin so I sat there thinking about his life.

“It was fantastic. They told be I was better than some actors they’d had because I was so natural.”

McVicar’s story is told for a new ten-part series called Real Prison Breaks made by Endemol Southern Star and being shown on ITV4 from September.

Producer David Lowder and cameraman Andre Eavis have toured the USA, Canada, Australia and Europe collecting stories. Mr McVicar, now a London-based journalist, gave them a first hand account of his escape.

Mr Lowder said: “He was very emotional and said he had never talked about it before. His wife said it was the first time she had heard him tell the story. “Kevin looked a lot like he did then. He was great.”

Reporter Marjorie McIntyre and historian David Simpson, who work for The Northern Echo, also helped with the film.

Marjorie joined the crowds outside the jail as soon as the alarm was raised, possibly crossing McVicar’s path as he slipped away through the darkened streets.

Mr Lowder said: “It is a great story. The escape had a big impact at the time.”

Jailbreak that rocked region

IN October 1968, Londoner John McVicar’s breakout from supposedly escapeproof E-Wing of Durham Prison sent fear through North-East communities.

He got out by chipping through the wall of a shower room, replacing bricks with papier mache replicas.

In his autobiography McVicar by Himself, he described using a ventilation shaft to reach the exercise yard and the roof, where the two other convicts with him were recaptured.

He followed the river and railway to Chester-le-Street where he phoned friends from a call box. They picked him up the following morning and took him to London where he was eventually arrested two years later.

McVicar was finally released in 1978. Two years later his story was made into a film starring The Who’s lead singer Roger Daltrey.

It was called simply McVicar.