A 22-year-old Monmouth man accused of assault was cleared last Thursday (19th July) after two prosecution witnesses – including his alleged victim – failed to turn up to give evidence against him.

Liam Radnor, of Woodland Road, Wyesham, was alleged to have assaulted Ian Bourne causing him actual bodily harm in a Coleford pub on 10th December last year.

The prosecution case was that Mr Radnor was seen by a police officer in the act of striking Mr Bourne on the back of the head during their football club Christmas outing.

Mr Bourne and his brother David, a team-mate of Mr Radnor's who was present at the time of the incident, were due to give evidence in a trial at Gloucester Crown Court.

But when they did not show up and could not be contacted, prosecutor Tim Hills offered no evidence and the jury formally found Mr Radnor not guilty of assault causing actual bodily harm.

Mr Hills said it would have been the prosecution case that during the night out the Wyesham Football Club members were watching Barcelona v Real Madrid on the pub television and were making bets about scores.

An argument broke out over something which happened during the game and it was then that Mr Bourne was assaulted, he alleged.

There had fortunately not been any serious injury, he added.

Judge Euan Ambrose said he was reluctant to adjourn the trial as there had already been one previous aborted hearing when the witnesses had turned up but a judge had been taken ill.

"This is a small case which is in danger of becoming a saga," he said.

The judge agreed to give the prosecution time over the lunch adjournment to check on their witnesses and consider their position.

After the lunch break and with no sign of the Bournes arriving, Mr Hills said he had decided not to proceed rather than to rely entirely on the evidence of a woman officer who had been called to a disturbance in the pub and allegedly saw the offence being committed.

Judge Ambrose instructed the jury to find Mr Radnor not guilty and then discharged him.