A MAN has been cleared of kidnapping and beating his former lover in a bid to get her to drop court charges against him.
Gail Prest claimed ex-partner Leslie Cowe flipped after she told him their relationship was over.
She said he drove to her home in Vilette Road, Hendon, Sunderland, dragged her into his van by her hair and drove her to the beach.
The mother of his two children claimed Cowe repeatedly punched her and threatened to drown her if she would not drop the charges against him.
Cowe, now of Whitton Drive, Spennymoor, County Durham, denied carrying out the attack.
The jury at Newcastle Crown Court took just two hours to believe his version of events and clear him of kidnapping, intimidating a witness and assault.
Cowe was also found not guilty of two charges of common assault against his ex-partner, but was found guilty of causing actual bodily harm after an attack on her in June 1998.
Judge Esmond Faulks adjourned sentencing until today.
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