TWO MEN ARE due to appear in court this evening after an attempted armed robbery at a Permanent TSB branch in Wexford.

The men, both in their 20s, are scheduled to appear before a special sitting of Gorey District Court charged in connection with the incident on Thursday afternoon when two masked men entered the branch on Main Street in Gorey at lunchtime and threatened staff. One of the men was believed to be carrying a handgun.

However one of the staff members hit the panic alarm and the men fled the scene empty-handed in a black Fiat Punto, driven by a third man.

The car was spotted and pursued by gardaí from a nearby station, leading to a high-speed chase across the county. The perpetrators hijacked a second car and drove some distance before attempting to hijack a third car, when they were confronted by gardaí.

Gardaí used an incapacitant spray and arrested one man at the scene and a second in nearby fields a short time later. A gun was also found in the field.

One garda sustained minor injuries during the capture of the two men. The third person involved remains at large.