A TEACHER has been cleared of biting a man's nose during an inter-school football match.

Calvin Roger, 31, was found not guilty of causing actual bodily harm to Steven Langley, another teacher.

Mr Langley claimed his nose was left bleeding and deformed after the 11-a-side friendly.

Newcastle Crown Court had heard how the pair squared up to each other, and Mr Roger allegedly bit the middle of Mr Langley's nose, leaving him with a gaping wound.

Mr Langley, a teacher at Newcastle's Westgate Community College, was taken to hospital where he received seven stitches.

Mr Roger, deputy head of geography at Heaton Manor School, Newcastle, told the court: "I obviously caught his nose with my teeth. I do not remember how it happened."

The jury returned a majority not guilty verdict in two-and-a-half hours.

A spokesman for Mr Roger, of Cochrane Park Avenue, Cockrane Park, Newcastle, said: "He is relieved this is concluded. He has lived with this for six months, and would like to thank all those who supported him."

He is considering whether to return to school.