A DEAF man looked on teary-eyed as he was acquitted of raping his ‘drunk’ friend while she was sleeping.

Sighs of relief came from the public gallery as a jury yesterday announced it had unanimously found Callum Richards not guilty of assaulting the woman.

Richards, of Green Lane, Woodstock, appeared from the dock looking flustered as he left Oxford Crown Court with his loved ones, who were sobbing after hearing the news.

During his trial, the 29-year-old denied raping the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, at a mutual friend’s home on August 17, 2014.

Speaking via a sign language interpreter, he took the stand to tell the court he would never have attacked the woman, claiming the pair had a good relationship.

The jury of ten men and two women heard Richards had drunk six pints before helping his friend take the woman back to his home.

But the defendant said he never carried the woman upstairs to the bedroom where he was accused of raping her and was instead outside having a cigarette.

Prosecutor Abigail Husbands told the court the woman had been at a family celebration the previous night before heading to a Woodstock pub, drinking heavily throughout.

She made prior arrangements to stay at the friend’s house, sleeping in his bed while he slept downstairs with Richards.

At the trial last week, the court heard heard the woman say Richards had got into bed with her in the early hours later but had not been concerned.

However, her claims she was woken as the defendant raped her were rejected by the jury.