A mother-of-six has been cleared of a street attack on a woman who lost part of her tongue. Deborah Rowley, who had been accused of attacking Kerry Richards, claimed Miss Richards was accidently injured by her own group during a scuffle. Trouble had blown up in the King Kebab burger shop in Droitwich after Miss Rowley alleged she was branded fat.' A slanging match ended up with violence in the town's Woodman's Way on March 11 last year. Miss Richards fell over, hitting her head on a kerb, and bit through her own tongue. She also needed stitches in a head wound. But Miss Rowley alleged she was the victim of an attack and insisted her blouse was sliced through with an ornamental samurai sword. The 36-year-old from Woodman's Green, Droitwich, was found not guilty of assaulting Miss Richards and causing her actual bodily harm, by a jury at Worcester Crown Court. Prosecutor Trevor Meegan accused the defendant of being drunk, angry and using the words you're going to have it' as she left the burger bar at about midnight. But Miss Rowley, who had no previous convictions, said she was forced to barricade her face during a street confronation, when two relatives of Miss Richards armed themselves with pieces of wood. "I feared for my safety," she said. "They were trying to punch me and I felt a crack on my back." She claimed the sword was put against her neck and death threats made against her. Asked by her barrister to explain how Miss Richards got injured, she said: "When they were trying to attack me they must have caught Kerry. I never touched her."