A man was this morning freed while another had a two-and-a-half year jail term dropped to five months after an appeals court highlighted various inconsistencies in both the prosecution’s case and the magistrate’s decision.

Allan Pace was cleared of burglary and handling stolen property while Diego Grixti had a two-and-a-half year jail term reduced to five months after the Criminal Court of Appeal found him guilty of only handling stolen goods.

The three men had been arrested after a tip off alerted the police to a man acting suspiciously in a road in Valletta.

When the police arrived they found three men, one of whom was holding a bag containing items stolen from a shop 10 days before.

Mr Pace had been jailed for two years while Mr Grixti had received a two-and-a-half year sentence. A third man Curtis Bakoush had been jailed for one year for the crime but did not appeal the decision.