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Ronnie Biggs recovering after release?

NORWICH, England, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- One of Britain's most notorious criminals has enjoyed improved health since being released from prison on compassionate grounds, friends say.

Ronnie Biggs, 80, remains in Norwich and Norfolk University Hospital. But friends said he left his bed briefly Saturday, 24 hours after the guards were removed from his room, the Daily Mail reports.

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He even gave a brief interview to a Brazilian broadcaster, spelling out "I love Brazil" on a board.

Biggs escaped from a London prison in 1965, a year after being convicted and sentenced to 30 years for his part in the 1963 Great Train Robbery. He spent 35 years on the run, mostly in Australia and Brazil. He was imprisoned in 2001 after returning to England voluntarily.

"The danger now is of him overdoing it," one friend said. "The sheer relief of being freed has unlocked reserves of strength the doctors didn't know he still had."

Biggs reportedly spelled out a message to authorities: "I'll live on just to spite those who want me dead."

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