George Xuereb, 49, of Marsa has been jailed for 13 years after jurors found him guilty of involvement in the foiled hold-up at the Swieqi Mid-Med Bank branch on March 27, 1996.

He was also found guilty of trying to kill two policeman in a shootout as the gang escaped from the scene.

Jurors delivered the guilty verdict following 14 hours of deliberation.

They found Mr Xuereb guilty - by eight votes to one - of the attempted theft of around Lm100,000 (€233,000) and guilty by, seven votes to two, of the attempted murder.

He was also found guilty of stealing a revolver, complicity in stealing a van and the possession of a firearm without a licence - by eight votes to one.

Mr Justice Michael Mallia said he had considered the final submissions of the defence and the prosecution. Defence counsel Raphael Fenech Adami in his submissions asked the court to consider the lapse of time.

Lara Lanfranco for the prosecution, pointed out in her submissions that Mr Xuereb had also been convicted of attempted burglary from a private residence in March 2012, showing that despite the passage of time, he had not changed his ways. The Mid-Med Bank hold-up and shootout could have had far worse consequences, she said. She also noted that the other two members of the gang had pleaded guilty, but he did not.

Mr Xuereb was the third man convicted in connection with the case. Joseph Polidano and Carmelo Spiteri had each been jailed for 10 years.

The gang of armed and hooded men had gone into the bank and demanded cash from the manager. Coincidentally, a police car drove up at a petrol station next door because of a slow puncture. One of the officers noticed what was going on in the bank and raised the alarm.

The robbers also noticed the police and tried to escape in a van. A shootout ensued, during which one of the robbers was hit. Nothing was stolen.