The Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs, who has been in hospital after breaking his hip in a fall, has "taken a turn for the worse", his solicitor has said.
The Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs has been refused parole by Justice Secretary Jack Straw.
Giovanni di Stefano said Biggs' son Michael was on his way to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital "on an emergency basis".
Mr Straw rejected a recommendation by the Parole Board which backed the release of Biggs, 79.
Justice Secretary Jack Straw is expected to make an announcement about Biggs' parole bid.
The news comes as his solicitor revealed that Biggs, who is in hospital after breaking his hip in a fall, had "taken a turn for the worse".
Biggs, who is barely able to walk, could be released as early as Friday.
Giovanni di Stefano said Biggs' son Michael was on his way to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
The 79-year-old, who is being held in Norwich Prison, is in Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital after breaking his hip in a fall at the weekend.
Biggs, who is being held in Norwich Prison, is in Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital after breaking his hip in a fall at the weekend.
Last week the Parole Board recommended that he be released.
'Risk areas'
But the board said Biggs had not undertaken risk-related work and did not regret his offending.
The Parole Board report said the risk Biggs posed was "manageable under the proposed risk management plan and consequently parole is recommended".
Biggs was a member of the 15-strong gang which attacked a mail train at Ledburn, Buckinghamshire, on 8 August 1963.
After being given a 30-year sentence, he escaped from Wandsworth Prison, south London, in a furniture van after spending 15 months in jail.
He was on the run for more than 30 years, living in Spain, Australia and Brazil, before returning to the UK voluntarily in 2001.
