[A] MAN accused of an alleged attack on his friend in a Lake District hotel room has been acquitted by a jury.
Shane Ian Harper, 27, denied assaulting Adam Botha at Borrowdale’s Lodore Falls, near Keswick, on February 4. Harper also denied the aggravated taking of a Vauxhall Insignia belonging to Mr Botha after an incident which was alleged to have occurred after the men checked into a room at the hotel.
After hearing all evidence in the case, jurors unanimously acquitted Harper of the vehicle taking. They also found him not guilty of the alleged actual bodily assault, on a majority verdict.
Jurors heard Harper, of no fixed address, had previously admitted five offences which were committed that night. These were dangerous driving, near Keswick, on February 4; driving while disqualified; and common assaults on three police officers.
Harper is due to be sentenced for those crimes on June 7. He was remanded in custody in the meantime.
