AN OFF-duty policeman, accused of seriously injuring an Evesham animal rights protester, has been cleared of causing her grievous bodily harm.

A jury at Peterborough Crown Court took 55 minutes to find David Manton, of Cambridgeshire police, not guilty after he admitted twisting one of the legs of scaffolding Lynne Sawyer was sitting on, before she fell to the ground.

Miss Sawyer, who comes from Boat Lane and is a member of the Huntingdon Animal Cruelty Group, was one of two protesters who had climbed to the top of the 15ft metal tripod being used to block the A1.

The incident happened on July 29 last year on the A1 at Little Paxton, Cambridgeshire.

Miss Sawyer, a midwife, was taken to hospital with a broken leg and facial injuries.

Manton, who did not identify himself as a police officer at the time of the incident, denied deliberately injuring Miss Sawyer.

He told the jury that he took hold of one of the legs of the tripod to test its weight and to see how rigid it was. He said: "I put my right hand on it and it twisted in a clockwise direction and, as it twisted, it started to fall."

Manton said he lost his nerve after the accident and he got back on his motorbike and rode off. He failed to report the incident and was arrested the next day.

The forty-nine-year old police officer was suspended from duty and has been awaiting a decision about whether he should face disciplinary proceedings ever since. After the trial Miss Sawyer, whose leg was broken in four places, said: "This case is far from over." She had wanted the trial held in a county other than Cambridgshire - where Huntington Life Sciences is based - but was unsuccessful.

"We wanted it moved to another county and a different police force to investigate the case but were turned down," she said

Miss Sawyer, 34, spent three weeks in hospital, underwent plastic surgery for her facial injuries and was signed off work for nine months.

She said she could not divulge at this time what further court action she would be taking.

A press officer for Cambridgeshire police said: "PC Manton was suspended but has now returned to operational duty, but a decision has still to be taken whether he will face disciplinary action."

The spokesman added that the inquiry was led by their own team but supervised by the police complaints authority.