Ronnie Biggs set for London move after recovery

Freed train robber Ronnie Biggs could be moved to a new home in London as early as this weekend after staging a fightback against the health problems that almost killed him.

Family say the relief of being freed from jail by Justice Secretary Jack Straw has given him the strength to fight the pneumonia and other ailments that threatened his life and that he may be transferred to a nursing home in Barnet later this week. The home is directly linked to the local hospital.

They also say that Biggs' prolonged stay at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, where he will today have surgery to replace the tube which inserts food into his stomach has helped his recovery.

Biggs' improvement - which comes only days after Mr Straw announced that he was freeing the Great Train Robber on compassionate grounds because of medical evidence that he was unlikely to recover - has surprised friends, who were convinced he was going to die at any hour in hospital.

His son Michael had rushed to his father's hospital several times after doctors expressed concern about how long Biggs could survive.

One friend said: "The danger now is him overdoing it. The sheer relief of actually being freed has unlocked reserves of strength the doctors didn't know he still had.

"His major decline came after he had been told he was to be released earlier this year, then Jack Straw decided not to. It really battered his morale and he sunk deep. Now he is feeling genuinely better, but we still aren't clear of the woods."

Since his release was announced, Biggs has already given a brief interview to a Brazilian TV show, TV Globo's Fantastico.

In it he spelt out "I Love Brazil" on his alphabet board and then said he is missing Brazilian beer.

He is also preparing to update his autobiography "Odd Man Out."

His ghost writer, Christopher Pickard, who visited him on Sunday, said: "Ron wants to get the final chapters of his life written down.

But it's got to be done slowly. He is still a very, very sick man, but there is still the twinkle in the eye and he has not lost his sense of humour."

On Saturday, twenty-four hours after Justice Secretary Jack Straw did a U-turn and freed him on compassionate grounds', Biggs was well enough to leave his hospital bed and sit in a chair to mark his 80th birthday. He also got to play with his Brazilian born granddaughter on his first full day of freedom'.

He spelt out: "I've got a bit of living to do. I might even surprise them all by lasting until Christmas. I'll live on just to spite those who want me dead."

Biggs's 80th birthday fell on the 46th anniversary of the £2.6 million train robbery. He was given a 30-year sentence but after 15 months escaped and spent more than 35 years on the run in Australia and Brazil.

He remained at large until 2001 when, after a number of strokes and 13,068 days on the run, he flew home for treatment.

Last month, Mr Straw refused to grant him parole and it appeared Biggs would die a prisoner. He reversed his decision last week on compassionate grounds after receiving medical evidence that Biggs was unlikely to recover from his multiple health problems.