A 25-year-old man from Valletta has been accused in court with the attempted murder of a police sergeant as well as with stealing his private car.

The arraignment followed Saturday afternoon's incident when the off-duty police sergeant stopped in Braille Street, Sta Venera, to help two young women who were being molested by three men.

The three men allegedly assaulted the sergeant, with one of them, Clayton Cremona, 25, having allegedly got into the sergeant's Peaugot, and driven it towards the police officer, pinning him against a wall. He then allegedly drove into and damaged a car belonging to the women before driving off. The officer's car  was later found burnt in Triq il-Fatati, Hamrun.

The other two youths involved in the incident, who are siblings, were accused of assault.