A businessman has been unanimously cleared of assaulting two men in a back alley near his business in Carlisle.

Barnaby Bowman, 43, walked free from Carlisle Crown Court after standing trial accused of violence that left one man with a badly broken leg.

Mr Bowman had denied causing Ian Kidd grievous bodily harm and assaulting Mark Gibson.

This was alleged to have occurred in an alleyway close to the Andalusian bar in Warwick Road that Mr Bowman owns with his wife.

After hearing all the evidence in the case, a jury of nine men and three women returned their verdicts.

They found Mr Bowman, of Chapel Brow, off Durranhill Road, Carlisle, unanimously not guilty of both charges.

He was immediately discharged from the court dock by Judge Peter Davies, who told him: “Thank you very much, Mr Bowman, you are free to go.”

As Mr Bowman walked out of court, he said to a number of people sat in the public gallery: “Let’s go.”

During his evidence to the jury, Mr Bowman had said at about 3.45am on December 14 he heard a commotion in the alleyway.

First Mr Gibson and then Mr Kidd came towards him aggressively, the court heard.

The trial was told Mr Bowman responded by pushing both in the chest and, separately, they stumbled and fell.

The jury also heard he went back into the bar but Mr Kidd then arrived at the back door, which he kicked.

The court was told he tried to assault Mr Bowman, who told the jury: “I was trying to get on top to subdue him.”

Mr Bowman, the trial heard, eventually restrained the unwanted visitor with the help of bar manager Morgan Taylor and regular customer Richard Geddes.

It was alleged by Mr Kidd that a man who he later identified as Mr Bowman had stamped on his leg – causing two breaks – and assaulted his friend, Mr Gibson.

But in his evidence, Mr Taylor said that was not true.

Mr Taylor also described both Mr Gibson and Mr Kidd as aggressive. Mr Taylor recalled that each was pushed “open-handedly” by Mr Bowman on separate occasions.

He confirmed this caused both men to stagger briefly and fall backwards.