A man accused of hitting a young girl in the face and on her leg with a weightlifting belt has been acquitted.

Brian Johnson, 37, of Gainsborough Green, Abingdon, was accused of child cruelty towards a girl between October 30, 2001, and September 29, 2002. On April 28 a jury at Oxford Crown Court took just over an hour to find him not-guilty. Initially, Mr Johnson was charged with five counts of child cruelty but after legal submissions Judge Julian Hall ruled that not guilty verdicts be recorded for three charges.

The jury was also discharged from giving a verdict on a fourth charge. All four charges related to a boy.

On Monday, April 26, the opening day of the trial, the alleged victim, who gave evidence via a video-link, said Mr Johnson had "hit me really hard" with a weightlifting belt on two occasions.

Another witness claimed she had seen Johnson smacking the girl with considerable force.

But Mr Johnson said he did not have a belt in his possession. He said he had borrowed a weightlifter's belt to support his back while gardening, but had only kept this for a few weeks.

Mr Johnson said the child had been fed lies about him hitting her.