LANDLORD Paul Gresty told tonight of his relief after he was cleared of assaulting a kitchen worker who swore at him in a row sparked by a karaoke session.

Oxford Magistrates Court heard that after Mr Gresty grabbed Danielle Young, bruises appeared on her upper arms.

The teenager told her parents about the incident the next day and reported it to police.

Mr Gresty, 46, who runs the White Horse pub in Ock Street with his wife Kim, denied a charge of common assault during the early hours of August 31 last year, when Miss Young was 17. She is now 18.

After he was cleared yesterday, Mr Gresty said: “I’m glad common sense has prevailed.

“I have had to step down as chairman of Abingdon Pubwatch, but I will continue to work with them to my full capacity.

“I would act the way I did with anyone I felt was threatening me or my staff.”

Magistrates heard the row broke out at a staff party when Miss Young, who had drunk three glasses of wine, was asked to sing a song she did not like.

Miss Young, from Abingdon, wanted to sing Mamma Mia, but when asked to sing Who Let the Dogs Out, she protested.

Mr Gresty, the court heard, accused her of being childish. She swore at him before he led her out of the pub into the car park.

Sarah Wiskin, who also worked at the pub, said Mr Gresty knocked a glass out of Miss Young’s hand before pushing her out of the pub.

“I told him to let her go,” Miss Wiskin said.

Mr Gresty told magistrates he acted in self-defence because he thought Miss Young was going to throw a glass at him.