A MAN convicted of a gangland murder 38 years ago is pleading with the public to help him prove his innocence.

Dennis Stafford and business associate Michael Luvaglio were convicted of murdering fruit machine dealer Angus Sibbet in South Hetton, County Durham, in 1967 and jailed for life.

Stafford has taken his case to Criminal Cases Review Commission, which will decide, possibly early next year, if it can be referred to the Court of Appeal.

Now, in an attempt to beef up his case, Stafford is appealing to anyone who attended his trial at Newcastle Crown Court - then at the Moot Hall - to come forward.

His solicitor, Michael Purdon, said: "I am interested in hearing from anyone who was present at the trial."

The latest appeal is being helped by recently-introduced freedom of information laws, which have made it possible for copies of documents that would not have been made available to defence lawyers in the past to be made available now.

Stafford and Luvaglio each served 12 years, but have always protested their innocence.

Angus Sibbet was found dead on the rear seat of a Mark 10 Jaguar parked under Pesspool Bridge, in South Hetton, in January 1967. He had been shot three times.

Several miners, who had just finished their shifts at South Hetton Colliery, spotted the Jaguar, with its headlights still on, but said they did not see any damage to the vehicle or a body inside.

They were not called to give evidence at Stafford and Luvaglio's trial.

The Mark 10 Jaguar was said to have been in a collision with a red E-Type Jaguar in which Stafford and Luvaglio were travelling shortly before Mr Sibbet was killed.

But the pair say they were in the Bird Cage nightclub, in Newcastle, at the time.

In May 2001, convicted armed robber John Tumblety said he was "150 per cent certain" that Stafford and Luvaglio were not involved in the murder.

Mr Tumblety, from Edinburgh, said he was the getaway driver for the real killer.

Stafford, who lives in Stanhope Castle, in Stanhope, Weardale, County Durham, was not available to comment yesterday.

In May, when he instigated his latest appeal, he said: "I am absolutely certain I will win it this time. I have no doubt about it."