The court of appeal has quashed George Davis's conviction for the armed robbery of the London Electricity Board in 1974 Press Association

A man who has spent decades denying his involvement in an armed robbery has won his appeal against conviction.

George Davis was jailed over a raid in April 1974 at the now defunct London Electricity Board (LEB) in Ilford, Essex.

On Tuesday, three judges at the court of appeal quashed his conviction.

Davis, now 69, who lives in London, was present in the packed courtroom for the announcement, made by Lord Justice Hughes.

At a hearing earlier this year, Davis's barrister argued that his Old Bailey convictions for robbery and wounding with intent to resist arrest should be overturned. It was submitted that evidence to show the convictions were unsafe "has been in the hands of the authorities since at least 1977".

The convictions were referred to the court by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), an independent body that investigates possible miscarriages of justice.

Davis was originally sentenced in March 1975 to 20 years. The same year, the court of appeal rejected a conviction challenge bid, but reduced his sentence to 17 years.

His case attracted widespread attention in the 1970s, with the punk band Sham 69 writing a song about him, The Who singer Roger Daltrey wearing a T-shirt proclaiming Davis's innocence and his name being daubed across railway and road bridges.

Campaigners calling for his release also vandalised the pitch at Headingley cricket ground in Leeds in 1975, causing a Test match between England and Australia to be abandoned.

Davis's sentence was remitted by royal prerogative and he was released from prison in 1976.

He was arrested again in September 1977 and later pleaded guilty to his involvement in an armed robbery at the Bank of Cyprus in London. He was sentenced to 15 years, reduced to 11 years on appeal.

Hughes, sitting with Mr Justice Henriques and Mrs Justice Macur, said when quashing his conviction: "There can of course be no question of retrial at this remove of time."