Mr Donnelly recorded an "open verdict" into John's death – paving the way for Darwin to freely claim the life insurance cash.

Sons Anthony, 29, and Mark, 31, attended the inquest with their mother, Anne.

Malcolm Donnelly, the Hartlepool Coroner who conducted Mr Darwin's inquest, told how the original police investigation "indicated there were no suspicious circumstances".

He said: "Where there is no body, and there are no suspicious circumstances, an inquest allows family and friends to move on and deal with administrative matters which they might not otherwise be able to do.

"In this particular case, there was really nothing else at the time to find out, so the inquest process was to establish the probable fact of death."

Because he vanished at sea, his death was recorded on April 28, 2003, as a certified copy of entry in the Marine Register. It states he died on March 21, 2002, in the sea near North Gare, Hartlepool.

Mr Donnelly added: "I can recall other inquests that have been carried out without a body having been recovered over the past 10 years.

"But to have a man actually turn up alive after such a long period of time is unprecedented in this jurisdiction."