John Darwin, the canoeist who walked into a London police station five years after faking his own death, today pleaded guilty to seven charges of obtaining cash by deception and a passport offence.

At a hearing at Leeds Crown Court, Mr Darwin, 57, denied nine other charges of using criminal property, while his wife Anne, 55, pleaded not guilty to six deception charges and nine of using criminal property.

The pair are accused of fraudulently obtaining almost £250,000 during the course of a five-year charade which began when Mr Darwin took his canoe out to sea opposite his home in Seaton Carew in March 2002. Reported missing by his wife, rescue services launched a massive air-sea search and discovered his wrecked canoe but no sign of his body. He was pronounced dead by a coroner the following year.

The mystery of his disappearance had long faded from the public consciousness and might have stayed unsolved forever had he not walked into a London police station on December 1 last year claiming amnesia and declaring himself a missing person.

Mr Darwin was reunited with his overjoyed sons and relatives, while Anne, who had moved to Panama City just two months previously, declared her joy at his return. But it was not long before the deception began to unravel.

Within days, a photograph emerged of Mr Darwin and his wife which appeared to show them in the Central American capital with a property agent. It was dated July 2006 - more than three years after Hartlepool Coroner Malcolm Donnelly recorded an open verdict on Mr Darwin’s death.

It has since been claimed that the former teacher and prison officer was secretly living with his wife at her seaside home in Seaton Carew for much of the time he was thought to have been dead. The pair owned adjoining properties linked by a door in a fake cupboard, through which he would disappear whenever his wife had visitors, it has been reported.

Mrs Darwin had cashed in on her husband's life insurance policies but she insists she genuinely believed her husband was dead at the time and that their pretence only began when he turned up on her doorstep some time later.

After selling their properties in Seaton Carew, the pair then apparently moved to Panama with the intention of setting up an eco-resort specialising in canoeing. It is unclear why Mr Darwin chose to return to the UK last year though it has been reported that he was thrown out of the couple's Panama City flat - which was in his wife's name - after an argument.

Detectives said the couple’s two sons, Mark and Anthony Darwin, were never told that their father was still alive and were innocent “victims” of the plot. They have since disowned both their parents.

Mr Darwin will not face trial for the charges he denied, which will be left to lie on file, prosecutors said. He will remain in custody until the trial of his wife, scheduled to begin on July 14, and sentenced following a report to the judge.

His lawyer, Peter Makepeace, told the judge he fully expects a lengthy custodial sentence.

Standing in the dock this morning after being brought into court, Mr Darwin turned to his wife and squeezed her hand. However she simply continued to stare straight forward, without apparently responding.

Flanked by three security guards, the couple stood together throughout the hearing, which lasted around 30 minutes.

Mr Darwin, wearing a black leather jacket over a blue open-neck shirt and jeans, calmly entered his pleas, pausing occasionally to consult a piece of paper.

His wife, in a white cream cardigan over a white shirt with dark trousers, betrayed no emotion as she confidently declared herself “not guilty” to each of the charges.

Mr Makepeace asked for a pre-sentence report to be prepared and said his client had been seen by a psychiatrist but there were no mental health issues relevant to the case.

But he added: “Mr Darwin has been in custody. It has been an extremely difficult time for him. There has been self-harming issues.”

He continued: “He accepts entirely that a lengthy custodial sentence is inevitable.”

The court was told that Mrs Darwin's trial would be held at Teeside Crown Court and would last approximately five days.

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