U.K. train robber Biggs officially free

Ronnie Biggs, one of the culprits behind Britain's Great Train Robbery of 1963, was officially released from prison on compassionate grounds on Friday.

Family members said they received a fax on Friday afternoon confirming that Biggs was no longer a prisoner as his health continues to deteriorate.

A Justice Ministry spokeswoman confirmed the documents completing his release from prison had been signed and the prison officers watching him at the Norwich and Norfolk hospital have left his bedside.

Biggs, who was serving a 30-year sentence, will be under the supervision of the country's probation service and if he were to break the conditions of his release, which include not breaking the law or travelling abroad, he will be returned to prison.

British Home Secretary Jack Straw, who rejected an earlier parole bid by Biggs last month, said the decision to release the ailing 79-year-old was based on medical evidence that he is not expected to recover.

Biggs has pneumonia and has suffered a series of strokes that have left him bedridden.

'Over the moon'

Biggs has been in and out of the hospital since February, suffering from seizures and heart attacks. He was taken to hospital in June for a chest infection and then readmitted on Tuesday, officials said.

According to his family he is no longer able to walk, speak or eat and will be undergoing surgery to receive a feeding tube in his stomach.

His family said Biggs, who will celebrate his 80th birthday Saturday, will remain in his hospital bed. If his condition improves, Biggs is expected to be transferred to a nursing home north of London, which will be closer to his son's home.

"It will just be good to have him as Ronald Arthur Biggs, not a prison number," said Biggs's son Michael.

He told BBC that his father is "over the moon" on the news of his release.

"My father has served a very long time in prison," Biggs said. "In comparison to sentences which are being handed out nowadays, it's pathetic that anyone would expect my father to serve 30 years for taking part in a train robbery."

Biggs is known for his part in the daring heist of 2.5 million pounds from a Glasgow-to-London night train by a gang of 15 robbers. Saturday also marks the 46th anniversary of the 1963 heist that was dubbed the crime of the century.

Biggs was given a 30-year sentence but escaped 15 months later and travelled under an alias to Australia, Argentina and Bolivia before settling in Brazil. He spent part of his loot on plastic surgery and fake travel documents.

He returned to Britain voluntarily in 2001, telling a U.K. tabloid newspaper his last wish was "to walk into a Margate pub as an Englishman and buy a pint of bitter."

Though the family is delighted at the release, Biggs is asking for privacy in what may be the last few days of his life, his lawyer, Giovanni Di Stefano, told Sky News.

"He is being released effectively to die and that cannot be considered a victory," Di Stefano said.