Salvatore Mannino, 52 (pictured) was found in Edinburgh St Giles Cathedral by police in a seemingly confused state and suffering from memory loss

A 'lost' tourist who was found wandering around Edinburgh and claimed to have no memory of who he was or how he got there has admitted to faking his amnesia to avoid his 'nagging' mother-in-law, it was reported last night.

Salvatore Mannino, 52, was found in Edinburgh's St Giles Cathedral by police in a seemingly confused state and suffering from memory loss.

His disappearance from his native Pisa soon raised suspicion when concerned Italian police officers tracked his searches on his computer, which showed that he had looked up terms such as 'how to disappear' and 'how to fake memory loss', the Sun reported.

Yesterday the father-of-four was forced to drop his façade, admitting to British police: 'I did it to get away from my nagging mother-in-law.

'I never lost my memory. I wanted to show my family I was important to them.

'I wanted to regain my position as a husband and father as I felt my mother-in-law had taken that from me.'

It transpired that Mr Mannino had escaped from Pisa and travelled to Scotland in mid-September.

Before leaving the family home, he left a briefcase with €10,500 (£9,350) and a sheet of paper with a numerical sequence - a code which was deciphered by his eldest son, 18.

After that and before he went to Scotland, it emerged he had gone to the Tuscan town of Prato to work in a supermarket in the local Chinatown.

When he was returned back to Italy by police and confronted by his family (wife Francesca and daughter pictured) Mr Mannino (left) kept up his elaborate lie and pretended he did not know them

Investigators initially believed he was in Scotland on the run from the Chinese mafia, but this baffled his family, who said it was 'news to them'.

Family lawyer Ivo Gronchi told local media: 'He can't give an explanation. He asks his wife if she can explain what happened.

'This has all been a bolt from the blue for the family. If he was threatened by the Chinese mafia, he never mentioned it to them.'

He was identified by his tattoos by Scottish police who found him in the cathedral in Edinburgh and they subsequently flew his wife, Francesca, and his children over.

But even when confronted with his family Mr Mannino kept up his elaborate lie and pretended he did not know them.

He was taken back to Italy where doctors said there was nothing wrong with him or his memory.

Yesterday it was revealed Salvatore has been charged by Italian police for abandonment.

A spokesman told the Sun: 'The waste of time and money hasn't gone down well.' A source close to the family said: 'Francesca is not happy at all.

'He's caused a lot of anguish and her mother isn't even that bad — I've heard of worse.'