A JURY has found a man accused of hitting a teenage boy with a bat on Portland not guilty.

Alexander William Graham, 56, of Fleet View in Wyke Regis, was standing trial at Dorchester Crown Court where he denied the charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

It took the jury less than an hour to reach a not guilty verdict.

Prosecutor Simon Foster had previously told the court how the alleged incident took place on December 1, 2009, in Harding House in Woolcombe Road on Portland after an altercation took place in the block of flats between a group of teenagers and Mr Graham and his wife, Tanya.

Witnesses told how Graham produced a weapon, that was given various descriptions including a bat, a metal pole, bar and a wooden truncheon, and repeatedly hit the boy who cannot be named because of his age.

However Francisca Da Costa, defending Mr Graham, told the jury that it was the boy who was the aggressor and Mr Graham was acting in self-defence.

She also told the jury that no weapon ever existed.

From the witness stand, Mr Graham said: “The boy was being very aggressive towards me.

“I was hit once in the face which knocked my false teeth out. I was put in a headlock and I felt punches. I started lashing out to try to stop that person.”

Miss Da Costa concluded her closing speech by telling the jury: “It seems the truth has been twisted and Mr Graham has been changed from the victim to the aggressor.”