Pair cleared of Shropshire pub car park attack

Kiah Shamen Roberts and Ashley Shane Davies were said to have attacked a man in the car park at Aston Munslow, near Church Stretton.

But magistrates sitting in Telford said they found none of the defence or prosecution witnesses credible and said they did not have enough evidence to convict the pair.

Mrs Abigail Hall, prosecuting, had alleged that Roberts and Davies had attacked a man in the car park.

Both men denied two charges of assault by beating yesterday when they appeared in court.

The group of friends had been enjoying celebrations at the pub as its new owners marked its "first birthday" under them on November 8, 2014.

Giving evidence, the alleged victim claimed he was dragged across the car park by his hair as the two 20-year-old men set on him, kicking and punching him.

But witnesses for the defence claimed that although pushing and shoving had occurred outside the pub, no punches were thrown and the fracas had quickly been broken up by the crowd watching it.

The two witnesses also claimed that the victim had been extremely drunk, aggressive and had been taking drugs.

Mrs Hall said that both defendants had then gone around to the house where the victim was staying and attacked him in the front room.

A prosecution witness claimed she feared the man was dead, until he sat up, but could not explain why the victim had not wanted to contact the police until days after the incident.

The court was told that Roberts, of Clun Road, Craven Arms, had been drinking with the man he was later accused of assaulting earlier that evening, and that the two had travelled together in a car driven by another friend.

Roberts described himself as "a peacemaker" and said that his role in the fracas had been to end the car park fight after the alleged victim started pushing Davies, the third such aggressive incident between the two men that evening.

Davies, of Bromley Court, Church Stretton, who was not represented in court, offered no evidence himself, saying that he was relying on defence witnesses and his police statement.

For Roberts, Mr Adrian Roberts, said that following the fight, his client and Davies had been invited to a house party, not knowing that the alleged victim was also there.

Roberts claimed that after walking into the house in Rushbury he punched the alleged victim because he felt threatened as the latter was holding a fire poker but the victim and two witnesses all gave different accounts of what had taken place.