A 26-YEAR-OLD man has been cleared of trying to knife his former girlfriend and of attempting to set her new partner on fire.
Andrew Ormerod, of Kay Street, Padiham, was found not guilty of two counts of attempted grievous bodily harm by a jury at Burnley Crown Court after a week-long trial.
The defendant, who had denied the allegations, was discharged from the dock by Judge Raymond Bennett.
The jury had heard claims Ormerod had tried to stab Samantha Metcalfe, the mother of his toddler daughter and her new boyfriend Michael Coupe. He was also alleged to have thrown a mixture of paraffin and lighter fuel into Mr Coupe's face before trying to set it alight.
The defendant told police he had used a knife and the liquid because he believed Mr Coupe had a firearm.
He said he did fling the lighter fuel at Mr Coupe but only so that the alleged victim could not see and claimed he never tried to light it.
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