A local footballer has been found not guilty of assault.

Paul David Whitehead, 35, of Primrose Lane, Peel was acquitted of a charge of maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm after a four-day trial at the Court of General Gaol Delivery.

He had been accused of breaking his alleged victim’s jaw in two places.

The offence was alleged to have been committed outside the East Quay in Peel and the Peveril Hotel on October 29 of last year.

Mr Whitehead walked free from court after the jury returned a not guilty verdict earlier this month.