Biggs 'stable' in hospital

Michael Biggs says he does not want his father to die in prison

LONDON, England -- The son of 'Great Train Robber' Ronnie Biggs has pleaded for his ailing father's release from prison.

Bigg's was transfered from a prison medical ward to a civilian hospital on Saturday for undisclosed tests after becoming ill.

Hospital authorities said he was in a "stable" condition but would not comment on reports that the 71-year-old criminal, who spent 35 years on the run, has suffered another stroke.

"His condition is stable and he will be staying in hospital today for further tests," a spokeswoman for Queen Elizabeth Hospital in London told the Press Association.

"He will be transferred back to the prison hospital facility when the doctors feel that his condition warrants it."

On Sunday, his son, Michael, said: "He was unconscious for a couple of minutes and then they rushed him over here because of the change in his condition.

A frail Biggs was returned to a UK prison last month after 35 years on the run

"But as far as I've seen, he's OK. I'm just upset to see him lying in bed looking so frail and being handcuffed to an officer."

Speaking to Sky News, he added: "I don't want to see my father die in prison -- it's the last thing I want."

Biggs has been held in custody at Belmarsh Prison, south east London, after ending his self-imposed exile in Brazil last month.

He contacted Scotland Yard detectives by e-mail from Rio de Janeiro asking for a passport and offering to give himself up after 35 years on the run.

He flew back to Britain last month and was immediately arrested to continue the 30-year sentence he was given for his part in the 1963 robbery of the Glasgow to London mail train.

The gang escaped with £2.6 million ($3.74 million) -- worth around $500 million today. Driver Jack Mills died a few years after being beaten by a cosh during the robbery.

Biggs had served only 15 months of his sentence when he broke out of Wandsworth prison in 1965.