A HOSPITAL porter from March has spoken of his relief at being acquitted of assaulting his neighbour.

Darren Slack, 44, of Nene Parade, March, was found not guilty of actual bodily harm at Cambridge Crown Court and awarded costs, after the prosecution barrister himself admitted the case was weak.

It had been alleged that Mr Slack had assaulted Martin Pryor and had resisted arrest, but a judge ruled that he had no case to answer.

The court heard that it was “not in the public interest” for the case to continue.

“It’s been very distressing,” said Mr Slack. “It’s had an impact on my family life and it’s been very embarrassing because I work in a hospital and that’s not nice to explain to people at work.

“It makes me angry to see so many people waste their time when it need not have got that far.”

Mr Slack, who works ten hour shifts as a hospital porter, said the ordeal had contributed to an extremely upsetting few months, in which his father had also passed away.

“I had to have time off work to deal with this, including four court appearances and two days trial,” he said.

“It has disrupted my life since April. It has caused a great deal of stress.”