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Family blasts 'Darwin tour' move | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
The aunt of canoe fraudster John Darwin has criticised a holiday firm over plans to take British tourists to places he visited in Central America. | |
The 57-year-old and his wife Anne, 56, were jailed after John Darwin faked his own death in a canoe accident in 2002. They planned a new life in Panama. | |
Journey Latin America's week-long tour takes in Panama City and Lake Gatun, where the pair planned a canoe school. | |
Margaret Burns, 80, from County Durham, described the tour plan as "mad". | |
London-based Journey Latin America said it saw an opportunity to use the Darwin case to "make people aware" that Panama was a wonderful place. | |
It plans to charge people upwards of £1,400 for the holiday. | |
Marketing executive Laura Forsyth said: "It has been reported in the media that the Darwins visited Panama City and Gatun Lake, where they hope to make a home and start up a canoe business. | |
It's a pity people don't have anything better to do with their time John Darwin's aunt Margaret Burns | |
"Panama City and Gatun Lake are very popular places to visit for tourists visiting Panama. Journey Latin America thought it would be a bit tongue-in-cheek to create an itinerary based on the places that the Darwins visited. | |
"After all, Panama is a beautiful country boasting tropical forests, palm fringed beaches and colonial towns. We saw an opportunity to make people aware that Panama is a wonderful place to visit." | |
But John Dawrin's aunt Margaret Burns, from Blackhall near Peterlee, said: "I think the whole idea is mad. | |
"It will probably go down a bomb, but I don't know why some people are so stupid. | |
"Why would anyone want to see a grotty flat in Panama City and some undeveloped jungle in the middle of nowhere. It's sad. | |
"It's a pity people don't have anything better to do with their time." | |
The Darwins, from Seaton Carew, near Hartlepool, claimed £250,000 in insurance and pension payouts after John Darwin faked his death. | |
The fraud was exposed after a 2006 photo of them with an estate agent in Panama City appeared on the internet. | The fraud was exposed after a 2006 photo of them with an estate agent in Panama City appeared on the internet. |