Britain's criminal couples

These pairs may look innocent, but when it comes to crime, they think two heads are better than one

- FRANCES LEATE

When a respected Army major and his well-spoken wife were accused of conducting an audacious crime that would see them in receipt of a million pounds worth of prize money from TV game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire, the story gripped the nation.

But what made the crime even more shocking wasn’t only the fact they tried to win the money fraudulently, but that the couple seemed like such unlikely criminals.

And as the recently aired ITV drama Quiz suggests, as individuals, Charles and Diana Ingram might not have undertaken such a far-fetched public crime – but, together, they made a powerful combination.

We take a look at some of Britain’s most infamous criminal pairings.

Anne and John have since separated

THE PHANTOM CANOEIST

Former teacher and prison officer, John Darwin, and his receptionist wife, Anne, had spent their entire lives playing by the rules. And when John went missing in March 2002 after being seen paddling out to sea in his kayak off Seaton Carew, Hartlepool, the community was saddened.

A search was carried out but John wasn’t found, and he was declared dead, leaving his wife Anne and their two sons devastated. Only, all was not what it seemed.

‘Their sons were devastated’

John’s ‘death’ had been a carefully planned ploy so the couple could escape escalating debt and pocket £25,000 in life insurance. They even allowed their sons to believe John had died.

By February 2003, John was living in a bedsit next door to Anne’s home, and the following year, he got a fake passport, travelling to Cyprus, America, Gibraltar and Spain.