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Butch Cassidy was a Geordie

American outlaw Butch Cassidy had Geordie heritage, according to newly discovered records. The leader of the Hole In The Wall gang carried out countless robberies across Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico and Nevada.

But census records show his roots lie in the North East of England, reports the Daily Telegraph. His mother Ann Gillies lived for years in Brandling Village, in Jesmond, Newcastle, before emigrating to start a life in New York.

The English link was discovered by Mike Bell who as a boy became obsessed with the film Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford.

Mr Bell, 52, who grew up in Newcastle, said: “I’ve been from Utah to Argentina looking for information on Butch. All the time the house where his mum lived was around the corner.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .