A CRAVEN District councillor who was accused of grabbing a woman's bottom as she waited in a cafe has been found not guilty after a trial at Bradford Crown Court.

David Staveley, whose ward covers Settle and Ribblebanks and who is also the boss of two garages in Hellifield and Settle, denied one charge of sexual assault on a female over 16, claiming he had only touched the woman in the small of her back and mumbled to her she was in the way, the jury heard.

The alleged incident took place on January 12 last year at the Ye Olde Naked Man Cafe, in Settle.

Prosecuting barrister Amanda Johnson told the jury of 11 women and one man that father of three Staveley, 46, of Lords Close, Giggleswick, had grabbed the woman's bottom in the doorway of the cafe as she waited inside the door.

Giving evidence behind a screen, the woman said she had known the defendant for over 20 years through using his garages for repairs to her car.

He was also a long time acquaintance of her former and current partner and she regarded him as a friend.

They occasionally shared the same social circle and she had invited him along to a house warming party, as well as her 40th and 50th birthdays.

She told the jury she "squealed with shock" when she felt the defendant grab her right buttock and "froze". She did not turn around but a few seconds later he appeared on her right hand side in the shop, she said.

The woman said she went on to order a sandwich and the defendant then spoke to her about a couple of issues going on in the town.

Staveley, dressed in cream trousers and a navy jacket, denied touching her this way, telling the court: "I put my hand on the small of her back and said something like: 'Come on, you're in the way' because she was standing right in the doorway."

He said he had gone to the shop to buy a sandwich for his lunch because he was working at his garage.

She also said she had received a number of phone calls from Staveley connected through her work where he would disguise his voice initially before saying who it was.

"I think he thought it was funny but I said I didn't like it. I told him it was weird and wanted it to stop. His response was 'alright, sorry' and it stopped," she told the jury.

The witness also claimed he would occasionally breathe heavily down the phone or be silent which Staveley disputed, stating it was not something he would do.

He said he would sometimes use a silly voice initially when ringing friends but nothing was meant of it.

The woman also claimed he had invited her to two functions he was involved in - the Remembrance Service in Settle in November 2016 where he was laying a wreath and at a VIP station in the market place when the Tour de Yorkshire was passing through, and where his partner and three children were also in attendance.

Staveley said he invited her purely out of friendship and thought no more about it when she declined.

Defending barrister Camille Morland told the jury it was "ludicrous" of the witness to read more into the invitations.

"What man in his right mind would use such public places, in a town full of gossip where practically everyone knows one another, as a means of being in contact with someone?"

She asked Staveley: "Are you attracted to (the victim)?" He replied: "With all due respect to (her), no. I just regarded her as a friend."

Staveley also said the victim had attended his garage in Settle just two days after the alleged incident to speak to him about a matter connected to his work premises.

The witness denied attending.

The defendant's sister, Alison Balsamini, said she had gone to her brother's garage on January 14 and had seen the victim, along with her brother and two of his friends, "laughing and giggling" in the reception area.

The jury was told the incident of January 12 had been reported to Craven District Council who in turn ordered an external investigation which, on April 3 last year, found Staveley had not been acting as a district councillor at the time he was in the cafe and was not in breach of the council's code of conduct.

The case was reported to the police by the woman in October 2017.