The restaurant named after Canoe Man John Darwin in his home town is set to have its name changed over fears it glorifies his crimes.
The Staincliffe Hotel in Seaton Carew, Co Durham, is under new owners, keen to distance themselves from the fraudster who faked his own death.
A number of regulars have hit out at the name for the hotel’s Darwin Room.
A spokesman said: “It may be that Seaton Carew is not famous for much but we do not want it to be known for something like that.”
The restaurant was named in 2012 shortly after Darwin’s release from prison, when he was a regular visitor.
At the time a local called him brazen, adding : “He thinks it’s hilarious”.
The seafront hotel, next to Darwin’s former home, also used to have a Canoe Room named by the previous owners.
Yesterday, the 71-year-old was pictured in the Sunday Mirror shopping near the Philippines capital of Manila.
He is working on a second instalment of his life story with second wife Mercy Mae, 48 – though the first one was never published.
The ex-teacher and prison officer may be hoping to cash in on his crime again as his scam is turned into a major ITV drama about to hit screens.
The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe was inspired by a book by former Mirror journalist David Leigh, who found the crook’s first spouse Anne in Panama.
Darwin faked a sea kayaking tragedy to trigger a £500,000 insurance scam.
Anne, 69, lied to sons Anthony, 34, and Mark, 37, about their dad’s “death” in the North Sea in March 2002.
In 2008, the parents were both jailed for more than six years for fraud. After living as a ‘dead man’ for five years, they started a new life in Panama.
He handed himself in to London police in 2007 claiming he had amnesia. Darwin still kayaks in the Philippines.
