Alan Brigden twice tried to take his life in a bid to evade justice, writes Colin Adwent.

On the first occasion he was discovered by a neighbour after taking an overdose of tablets.

Then, as he was recovering, Brigden – who was known as Alan Morton when he taught Maths at St George’s – left hospital and tried to drown himself.

It can also be revealed that more than 20 years ago Brigden was investigated on suspicion of child sex abuse, but the Dutch authorities did not pursue the case.

At his first hearing before Ipswich magistrates following his extradition prosecutor Lorraine Irwin told the court: “Between arrest and extradition Netherlands granted conditional bail to the defendant.

“However, on October 25 (2010), come the extradition hearing, the defendant didn’t appear. It took police and prosecutors three days to locate the defendant.

“What happened to the defendant during that period was he attempted suicide, by taking an overdose of tablets. He was discovered by a neighbour and was taken to hospital.

“He walked out of hospital without permission or the knowledge of staff and jumped into a nearby lake. He was recovered from the lake and put back into medical care.”

Brigden had been living in Holland since 1990.

In 2004 he became a Dutch national and had a Dutch passport at the time of his arrest. Fighting an application for bail Miss Irwin added: “When arrested, his home address was searched and relevant photo images were found. A child’s underwear with name tape of one of the victims in this case was found at his (Brigden’s) address.

“Because of the number of images and literature found at the address the Crown says this defendant has a relevant interest in young children and therefore there is a danger that if granted bail he would re-offend.”