a $37,500 raid on the Bank of Bermuda at Somerset was jailed for 18 years.

The guard, Gary Hunter, claimed the robber, Yusef Ameerbakka DeSilva, 28, appeared to pull the trigger but said the .22 calibre pistol did not discharge.

Mr. Hunter added he believed he repeated the motion a second time, but again there was no shot.

DeSilva and two others -- who, with a fourth person had gone to the bank to carry out a planned raid -- were captured shortly after a chase across the Great Sound. The fourth person was never caught.

DeSilva pleaded guilty to armed robbery and using a firearm whilst committing an offence of robbery, on April 9 last year.

Crown counsel Patrick Doherty told the Supreme Court that after DeSilva confronted the guard with the gun, he ran from the bank but returned moments later with another robber.

DeSilva, wearing a helmet with visor and two sets of gloves, then jumped on the counter and waving the loaded gun around shouted "get down''.

Another man took cash from tellers' draws. At the same time, the third man fired a shot into the ceiling with a gun, which later turned out to be a powerful "desert eagle'' weapon, said Mr. Doherty.

Another man was waiting outside and shortly afterwards all four escaped on motorcycles. The group then headed to East Shore Lane where they boarded a boat, which had been hired the day before.

They were pursued across the Great Sound by Police in launches, but altered their route as they listened into Police transmissions.

After coming ashore at Riddells Bay, they ran towards the golf course. DeSilva was caught as he ran towards Riddells Bay Road. When he was searched, two .22 calibre bullets were found in his pocket.

Another two robbers were caught hiding in bushes on the golf course. The fourth person was able to escape.

Nearby, officers found two handguns, a bag of cash, cellular phones and radio scanners.

After his arrest, DeSilva, of Cobbs Hill Road, Warwick, cooperated with Police and took part in a reconstruction of the robbery, but he refused to give the names of the other robbers.

Robber jailed for 18 years The money, 23,500 Bermuda dollars and 14,000 US dollars, was recovered.

Marc Telemaque, representing DeSilva, said his client had cooperated with the Police.

He added there was an explanation by way of DeSilva's four-year-old daughter, who had special needs. There was room for leniency, he said.

DeSilva, reading from a prepared statement, told Chief Justice Austin Ward that it was never his intention to fire the gun at anyone and he didn't want to harm anybody.

"I am sorry it happened, I just got caught in a bad situation,'' he said.

"I am truly sorry, not just because I got caught but for the pain I have caused.

He said he failed as a father, as he couldn't find a job, adding that there was never an excuse for crime.

"I have hurt my daughter much more, I am here today to pay the consequences for that.'' Chief Justice Austin Ward sentenced DeSilva to eight years imprisonment for armed robbery and ten years for using a firearm whilst committing an offence of robbery. The sentences are to run consecutively.

Two other men are expected to face trial in connection with the incident in July.