A spry criminal slipped out of handcuffs chaining him to another man, ran down the street and dived into Hamilton Harbour to escape Police yesterday. ---- Page 3 VEHICLE FOILS BANK ROBBERS CTS Vehicle foils bank robbers A Supreme Court jury has heard how a pair of bungling robbers were forced to flea on foot after their getaway vehicle failed to start following a bank heist. ---- Page 3 STAYING WITH YOUR FITNESS PLAN LS HTH Staying with your fitness plan On New Year's Eve thousands of locals made a promise to get fit in 1999. Most started out vigorously, going religiously to the gym, walking a couple of miles each evening or even taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Now, almost a month later, most are beginning to lose steam and if action is not taken quickly your resolve will fizzle out altogether. ---- Lifestyle, Page 11 IOC PURGE `LONG OVERDUE' OLY IOC purge `long overdue' The man at the head of the Olympic movement in Bermuda has welcomed the inquiry into the bribery scandal over the selection of Salt Lake City for the 2002 Winter Games and the purge of corrupt officials resulting from it. ---- Sport, Page 19 BANKS UPBEAT OVER RESULTS BUC Banks upbeat over results Bank of Bermuda Ltd. yesterday announced diluted earnings of $15.1 million for the quarter ended December 31, up 14 percent over the same period in 1997.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Butterfield reported profits fell for the first half of fiscal 1998/99, but management described the underlying trend as considerably brighter. ---- Business, Page 23