[T]WO men have been unanimously cleared of taking part in a violent night-time street attack on a female couple in Penrith.
Kevin Alexander Docherty, 35, and 20-year-old Kyle Jonathan Russell Hill went on trial at Carlisle Crown Court earlier this week.
They both stood accused of attacking Laura Price and her girlfriend Yazmin Wood close to Penrith Leisure Centre late on August 18 last year.
Both women were left seriously injured and needed hospital treatment after they were assaulted by a third man, 29-year-old Ross Paterson. Jurors heard he had previously admitted causing the pair actual bodily harm during what the court heard had been a “homophobic” attack.
But while Docherty, of Castlebay Street, Glasgow, and Hill, of Glenafeoch Road, Carluke, admitted being present at the scene they each vehemently denied assaulting the women, causing them actual bodily harm.
In evidence during the trial, both men claimed they acted to prevent violence and injury by attempting to restrain Paterson.
This afternoon, a jury found Docherty and Hill unanimously not guilty of the charges they faced. They were immediately discharged from the dock by Judge Peter Davies.
Paterson, of Unitas Crescent, Carluke, will be sentenced for his offending at the crown court later this month.
