Mansfield man who gashed neighbour's face with golf club didn’t wound him deliberately
A Mansfield man who split his neighbour's cheek open when he swung a golf club at his face has been cleared of inflicting the wound deliberately, a court has heard.
A jury found Ashley Bates, 40, not guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent following a two-day trial at Nottingham Crown Court, on Thursday.
The court heard he became involved in a dispute over loud music at flats on Bamford Drive, Mansfield, on January 25, 2022.
He said he was upset following a recent bereavement and took the club for protection.
"I couldn't bite my lip any more when I asked him," he said. "He ran up the stairs with his finger pointing at me and I leant over the bannister and that is when I obviously clipped him with the golf club."
Bates, now of Newtons Lane, Cossall, was will be sentenced for inflicting grievous bodily harm on January 9.
Judge Tina Dempster ordered a probation report to be prepared.