Great Train Robber Gordon Goody dies in Spain aged 86

Gordon Goody, one of the last surviving members of the Great Train Robbery gang, has died, more than 50 years on from the famous heist.

The 86-year-old died in the south of Spain, where he ran a bar in the town of Mojacar.

The town hall released a statement saying he died on Friday morning surrounded by friends. It did not reveal the cause of death.

Goody was jailed for 30 years for his part in the robbery, one of the most famous in British criminal history, which was dubbed the "crime of the century".

On August 8 1963 a gang masterminded by Bruce Reynolds stopped the Glasgow-Euston overnight mail train as it passed through the Buckinghamshire countryside close to Cheddington.

The train was driven a mile and a half to Bridego Bridge, where the gang unloaded £2,631,684 in used notes - worth around £46 million today.

But they were later captured and 12 were jailed for a total of more than 300 years.

More than one broke out of prison, including Ronnie Biggs, who spent over 30 years on the run before he finally returned to Britain in 2001 to face arrest.

Reynolds returned in 1968, five years after the crime, and was captured in Torquay and jailed for 25 years.

Goody, who had been a hairdresser before the robbery, was sentenced to 30 years but released in 1975, setting up his Spanish bar four years later.

The Mojacar town hallstatement said Goody died at 6am, and paid a glowing tribute to him, according to The Local, an English-language news website in Spain.

A spokesman said: "All who knew him were struck by his friendliness, his love for his friends and family and the many pets he rescued from the street.

"He was a complete gentleman, far removed from the image that those who didn't know him might have had from those difficult years that marked a large part of his life. We will always remember his smile and his big heart that was always open to those around him."