Tony Couchman proudly shows off his copy of the Mail in Panama City – the adopted home of canoe man John Darwin.

Tony, 60, was backpacking across South America with his friend Nigel Shaw, a 47-year-old supply teacher, when the pair decided to spend two nights in the city.

John Darwin hit the headlines after he walked into a London police station claiming to be a missing person – five years after his initial disappearance.

It sparked a chain of events that eventually saw him back in Hartlepool before the courts.

Tony and Nigel, both from West Park, were on a two-week break which also saw them visit Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

Semi-retired Tony, who used to work as an engineer at Hartlepool Power Station, said: "We discussed the holiday in December last year and it was just pure coincidence that Darwin turned out to have been living there too.

"I made sure we took a copy of the Mail's front page and we had our photographs taken with it.

"We intended to go to Darwin's flat, but we didn't make it in the end because we only had a couple of nights there.

"The people of Panama were very nice and all the taxi drivers we spoke to knew about the story and the connections with Hartlepool.

"We even hitched a lift from an American, who was captain of a dredger, and he knew the full story very well. It's amazing how people from across the world end up knowing all about the small town where you're from."

The exam invigilator added: "The area we stayed was quite historic and they had filmed some of the new James Bond film there. However, there were no sign of anybody filming any canoe films.

"It was a very hectic and interesting holiday – and it was well worth the painful blisters.

"I suppose Panama City will become something of a tourist spot now for followers of the canoe man story."

Darwin, a former prison officer and teacher, was arrested and spent three months in custody before a hearing at Leeds Crown Court, where he subsequently admitted seven fraud charges involving almost £250,000.

His wife Anne, a former GP's receptionist, will stand trial at Teesside Crown Court in July for allegedly obtaining money by deception.John Darwin is expected to be sentenced after the conclusion of his wife's trial.