A MAN walked free from court after magistrates found him not guilty of assaulting the nephew of a Skipton takeaway owner with a can of Rubicon mango drink.

Banares Alam, 35, denied hitting Abad Ali in Rehmans takeaway on April 20 in a dispute over an unpaid bill, leaving him with a cut mouth that needed stitches.

Mr Ali told the court on Monday he remembered nothing between putting his hand out to Alam in the Keighley Road takeaway and waking up on the floor with a bloody mouth.

His uncle, takeaway manager, Mohammed Mansha, said he saw Mr Ali on the floor and claimed Alam had hit him with the drink can, although he admitted in court not actually seeing it happen.

He further claimed that Alam, whom he had known all his life, threw the can at Mr Ali before he told him to leave.

Alam himself was arrested several weeks after the incident and taken to Harrogate Police Station where he refused to answer all questions, or to give his version of events, the court heard.

At Monday's trial, Alam, of Niffany Gardens, Skipton, said Mr Ali had put his hand out to him, he had pushed it away, they had both fallen and Mr Ali had hit his head on the counter.

He said he had gone into the takeaway to settle the bill of around £19, had left and that MrAli had then waved him back in.

"I never assaulted him, I just went in to settle the bill. They are making it up to get me into trouble for some reason," he told the court.

Magistrates said they found Mr Mansha's evidence 'rambling and inconsistent' and that Mr Ali had not seen what had caused him to fall. They added the fact Alam had not co-operated with police had counted against him, but said there had been a three-month delay between the incident and his arrest.