DCI Banks actor Stephen Tompkinson found not guilty in assault trial

dailyrecord.co.uk:

TV star Stephen Tompkinson has been found not guilty of previous bodily harm after he was accused of punching someone to the ground.

The DCI Banks actor let out a sigh of relief in the dock as the judge thanked the jury. Alleged victim Karl Poole walked out of the court showing no emotion after the court was adjourned.The jury came to their decision in less than two hours, reports the Mirror.The 57-year-old stood trial accused of punching Karl Poole to the ground after he was drunkenly making noises outside his home in the early hours of May 30, 2021 - he was alleged to have left Poole with traumatic brain injuries.The Ballykissangel actor had consistently denied punching Poole, 48, in the early morning row two years ago.On Thursday, a jury at Newcastle Crown Court found Tompkinson not guilty of assault causing grievous bodily harm, after a trial which began on May 3.Tompkinson denied the charge, demanding that he did not punch Mr Poole and was “not responsible” for the double skull fracture he sustained when his head hit the pavement.He claimed that he put his hand out to stop Mr Poole coming towards him and making contact with his face but that it “wasn’t enough to knock a sober man off his feet”.While on the stand Tompkinson, who has appeared in Wild at Heart and Drop the Dead Donkey, said it would be ”career suicide to do something as outrageous as assault someone".

Poole was said to be in a drunken state, alongside his pal Andrew Hall, whilst lying on the pavement outside the property in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside.According to reports Poole was dressed only in his underpants and socks after a dawn dip in the North Sea, when Tompkinson went over to them at around 5.30am.The star, who was living with his girlfriend