Hostage watches as notorious bank robber is sentenced 29 years later

Brett Charlsley says he is relieved to see Alexander Robert Macdonald remain behind bars. ( ABC Mid North Coast: Nakita Jager )

A prolific offender who was given a life sentence in the 1990s for murder and armed robberies around Australia will spend at least another five years in jail.

Alexander Robert Macdonald has been sentenced for stealing $96,000 from two banks in regional New South Wales in 1996 and 1997.

Macdonald will be eligible for parole in 2034.

Brett Charlsley still vividly remembers the moment he was taken hostage at gunpoint in a regional New South Wales bank in 1997.

The now 65-year-old was in the Port Macquarie District Court today, watching the man responsible for the terrifying ordeal receive his sentence.

Mr Charlsley said when Alexander Robert Macdonald walked into the courtroom for sentencing, he immediately recognised him.

In March this year, Macdonald was arrested and charged with historical offences while serving time at Borallon Correctional Centre in Queensland.

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