A MARRIED restaurateur accused of raping a woman as his wife slept in the next bedroom has been cleared of the charge.

After two hours of deliberation, a jury of eight women and four men at Newcastle Crown Court cleared Mark Hird, 28, of attacking the woman last June.

The father-of-one admitted having sex with the woman, but said he had taken advantage after a drinking session.

Mr Hird initially denied any contact with the woman, but after DNA matching his was found during an examination of the woman, he admitted having sex with her.

He told the court: "Afterwards I thought why had I let myself succumb to going into the bedroom, why were we doing it when it was wrong?

"I wish I had never succumbed to the temptation of going into the bedroom. I wish it had never happened."

An application for costs from central funds was made on his behalf by defence barrister David Robson QC, but Judge David Hodson refused the application, saying: "This is one of those perhaps rarer cases where such an application is not appropriate."

Mr Hird, of Burdon Hall, Burdon Village, Sunderland, refused to speak after the hearing.

But he later released a statement saying: "For the last nine months I have gone through the kind of hell that I never want to go through again. My wife and family have stood by me through it all.

"I will never forgive the person who lied and put me in this situation, but all I want to do now is get on with my life."