Landlord cleared of chef assault

A ST Neots landlord has been cleared of assaulting a chef who smashed his pub window. At Huntingdon Magistrates Court on Friday Peter Butler, 50, was found not guilty of assaulting 20-year-old Matthew Bassinder on March 16. Alison Boulding, prosecuting,

A ST Neots landlord has been cleared of assaulting a chef who smashed his pub window.

At Huntingdon Magistrates' Court on Friday Peter Butler, 50, was found not guilty of assaulting 20-year-old Matthew Bassinder on March 16.

Alison Boulding, prosecuting, claimed Mr Butler, co-licensee of the Woolpack pub on Church Street, was among the men who chased Mr Bassinder and punched and kicked him off a bridge, into a stream.

In the witness box Mr Bassinder told the court he had broken a small window accidentally after stumbling while jogging home with a friend after a night out drinking.

He claimed he had intended to return to the pub the next morning to pay for the damage.

However, Mr Bassinder, who lives in St Neots, claimed he was set upon by a group of men, including Mr Butler, on a footbridge on Cemetery Road, at 11.30pm. He said he was left with facial bruising and lacerations.

In the witness box Mr Butler said he had chased Mr Bassinder and his friend Rikki Jefferies after hearing his window smash. He said he barred them from the pub but had not physically touched Mr Bassinder.

Presiding magistrate Graham Collins told Mr Butler: "We do not accept that Mr Bassinder was assaulted by eight to 10 people due to the minor nature of his injuries.