LONDON, Dec 6: British police were to question on Thursday a man who made a shock reappearance five years after being presumed drowned — as his wife admitted knowing he was alive and their “angry” sons condemned both parents.

Cleveland Police were to begin questioning on suspicion of fraud John Darwin, 57, who vanished while canoeing off the English coast in 2002, only to turn up Saturday at a London police station saying he believed he was a missing person.

His 55-year-old wife Anne, who recently moved to Panama, admitted that a photo of the couple together last year in the central American country was genuine, in interviews with British newspapers published on Thursday. She feared their two sons were going to “hate” her.

Anthony, 29, and Mark, 31, later vented their anger, saying they wanted no further contact with either parent as they told of their initial elation and subsequent despair. The pair said in a statement they were “angry and confused” and had gone through a “rollercoaster of emotion” since their father reappeared.

“From the height of elation at finding him to be alive to the depths of despair at the recent stories of fraud and these latest pictures,” they said. “If the papers’ allegations of a confession from our mam are true then we very much feel that we have been the victims in a large scam.

“How could our mam continue to let us believe our dad had died when he was very much alive?

“We have not spoken to either of our parents since our dad’s arrest and at this present time we want no further contact with them.—AFP