Two men have been acquitted of having taken part in a hold-up at a pharmacy after the Magistrates' Court found there was insufficient evidence to convict them.

Christian Fenech, 24, and Justine Fenech, 28, both of Ghaxaq, had been accused of a hold-up at St Philip Pharmacy in Ghaxaq in March 2007.

The pharmacist had reported that she was held up by a masked man who brandished a pen-knife and eventually escaped with almost €500. He escaped in a waiting car.

The hold-up was filmed on CCTV.

The police in their initial investigations had gone to the brothers' house and there noticed that one of the men was wearing shoes and a jacket that were identical to the image seen on the footage.

The brothers insisted that they were at their cousin's house at the time when the hold-up took place.

Magistrate Antonio Mizzi said the evidence presented was insufficient to ensure that the case was proved beyond reasonable doubt.