Justice Secretary Jack Straw has granted Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs "compassionate release" from his prison sentence.

Mr Straw said the decision was based on medical evidence that Biggs's condition had deteriorated and he was not expected to recover.

Biggs, who turns 80 this weekend, is severely ill in hospital with pneumonia and doctors have said there is "not much hope".

Last month the Justice Secretary rejected Biggs's application for parole on the grounds that the robber was "wholly unrepentant" about his crimes.

Biggs was rushed to the Norwich and Norfolk Hospital from his cell at Norwich prison on Tuesday and will remain on bed watch overnight.

The three Prison Service staff watching him will be withdrawn tomorrow, once the licence for his release is finalised.

The decision means Biggs can celebrate his birthday on Saturday a free man. It will be 46 years to the day since the robbery.

Biggs was a member of a 15-strong gang which attacked the Glasgow to London mail train at Ledburn, Buckinghamshire, in August 1963, and made off with £2.6 million in used banknotes.

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