A trail of vital clues was left by a pair of robbers as they made a desperate bid for freedom following a violent robbery in which three bank security guards were injured.

And yesterday a fingerprint expert testified that at least one of the items found at the scene of the escape had been handled by defendant Randolph Lightbourne.

Lightbourne, 32, of Devon Springs, Devonshire, faces five charges including armed robbery and two counts of unlawful wounding following the raid on the Somerset branch of the Bank of Butterfield in July, 1997. The security guards were injured by one of the robbers brandishing a revolver.

On the second day of the trial yesterday, scenes of crime officer Det. Sgt Keith Cassidy explained how he produced an inventory of items that the two robbers had dumped after abandoning their getaway car on Laurel Lane, Sandys, shortly after the raid.

The two men had been forced to evacuate their vehicle and run after a Police patrol car blocked the only exit out of the lane.

The list of items recovered by the Police included items of clothing, motorcycle helmets, a mobile telephone and a gun.

A search of the getaway vehicle, a white Toyota, revealed a number of items of clothing which, the prosecution alleges, were used by the robbers to disguise themselves during the heist.

Also found in the trunk of the car was a watch with the name Randy inscribed on it and the plastic wrapping from a pair of blue and black gloves, which were later found dumped nearby.

Giving evidence Bermuda Police Service fingerprint expert Ian Grant confirmed that a fingerprint taken from the plastic bag matched that of Lightbourne's.

But defence attorney Marc Telemaque questioned the validity of many of the exhibits collected at the scene. And he pointed to discrepancies between various Police officers as to whom had actually found certain items and which officers had taken photographs of them.

Lightbourne was arrested along with a second man, Reid Jones, shortly after the robbery. Jones is now serving a seven-year prison sentence for his part in the raid.

The trial will resume today.