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| Great Train Robber Bruce Reynolds dies aged 81 | Great Train Robber Bruce Reynolds dies aged 81 |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Bruce Reynolds, who was the key planner behind the £2.6m Great Train Robbery in 1963, has died aged 81. | Bruce Reynolds, who was the key planner behind the £2.6m Great Train Robbery in 1963, has died aged 81. |
| Reynolds evaded capture for five years, mainly spent overseas, but after returning to England was captured in 1968. He spent 10 years in jail. | Reynolds evaded capture for five years, mainly spent overseas, but after returning to England was captured in 1968. He spent 10 years in jail. |
| The haul from the raid by 15 men on a mail train in Buckinghamshire was a record at that time. | |
| Train driver Jack Mills was struck over the head during the robbery and never worked again. He died in 1970. | Train driver Jack Mills was struck over the head during the robbery and never worked again. He died in 1970. |
| The £2.6m haul from the Glasgow-to-London train, which the gang brought to a stop near Cheddington by changing a signal to red, is equivalent to £40m in today's money. | |
| Reynolds' son Nick said his father had died in his sleep in the early hours of Thursday. | |
| "He hadn't been well for a few days and I was looking after him," he said. "I really can't talk at the moment. I can confirm that he has passed away and he died in his sleep." | |
| Michael Biggs, the son of Reynolds' fellow Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs, paid tribute to "a very intelligent man, educated and very loyal to his friends". | |
| "Regardless of whatever mistakes Bruce made in his life, Bruce was a very, very kind person who was a true gentlemen who made many friends in his life," he told BBC Radio 5 live. | |
| Following Reynolds' release from prison in 1978, life proved a struggle and he was jailed again in the 1980s for three years for dealing amphetamines. | Following Reynolds' release from prison in 1978, life proved a struggle and he was jailed again in the 1980s for three years for dealing amphetamines. |
| In the late 80s he worked briefly as a consultant on a film about the robbery, Buster, and went on to publish The Autobiography of a Thief in 1995. | In the late 80s he worked briefly as a consultant on a film about the robbery, Buster, and went on to publish The Autobiography of a Thief in 1995. |
| By then, he was living on income support in a south London flat supplied by a charitable trust. | By then, he was living on income support in a south London flat supplied by a charitable trust. |
| Reynolds, the son of a trade union official at the Ford plant in Dagenham, east London, left school at 14 and worked as an accounts clerk, hospital laboratory assistant and cycle fitter. | |
| It was not long before he was in trouble with the law and he was sent to Borstal twice for theft. | |
| After his national service in the Army, he returned to a life of crime and served four jail terms, mainly for breaking into shops. | |
| In 1963, he joined forces with Biggs, Buster Edwards, Charlie Wilson and other gang members to carry out the Great Train Robbery. | |
| Reynolds used inside information on mail movements to plan the raid on the overnight train in a quiet part of Buckinghamshire on 8 August 1963. | |
| The 15 gang members, wearing helmets and ski masks, ran on board and made off with 120 bags of money. |