Paul Storey cleared of North Cadbury Catash Inn attack
A North Cadbury man accused of beating the landlord of a popular country pub with a long wooden object has been found not guilty of two charges of wounding.
Paul Storey, 48, a dairyman of Garden Cottage, North Cadbury, was alleged to have attacked Christopher Moore, who was landlord of the Catash Inn, on January 30, 2011 when he had a hand and foot in plaster following accidents in the pub.
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Paul Storey was found not guilty at Taunton Crown Court
But Mr Storey denied the attack, saying that Mr Moore had subjected him to a hellish ordeal as a result of the allegations.
Mr Moore told Taunton Crown Court he was assaulted when he went outside the pub to have a cigarette and was taken to hospital with a laceration to his head and other injuries. He said Mr Storey was in a relationship with his wife, Lisa, and on the night of the alleged attack she was supposed to be working in the bar.
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"I was not too pleased about her turning up at the pub for a drink with her boyfriend," he said.
"One of the reasons the pub was struggling was because she was not doing the number of hours she was supposed to. I was leaving on February 7 anyway."
A customer in the bar, Lorraine White, said Mr Storey followed the landlord out of the bar and Mr Moore returned about five minutes later with blood on his face. He shouted for someone to call an ambulance and said "Lisa, look what your boyfriend has done to me," the court heard.
Mr Storey, who denied wounding and wounding with intent, told the jury he and his former wife had three children and a grandchild.
his relationship with Lisa started and the end of October 2011, when her marriage was "over".
Before going out that evening, he drank more than half-a-pint of port but said he was "fine".
He denied seeing Mr Moore when he went outside for a smoke, and said he went home after about an hour because he was starting work at 5am the next day.
He said: "Moore has put me and my family through hell for the past year since this happened. I did not attack him."
A letter from Mr Moore's former wife, one of seven character witnesses who wrote to the court, said they separated in 1998 because she wanted to return to the Isle of Wight.
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