A NEWPORT taxi driver has been found not guilty of assaulting a man who suffered a fractured skull during an incident at Newport railway station.

59-year-old Leroy Hutchinson, of Stevenson Court, Rogerstone, was today acquitted of unlawfully inflicting grievous bodily harm on Gary Paul Butler, 43, on March 15 last year.

Mr Hutchinson, who has worked for Dragon Taxis for 28 years, appeared at Newport Crown Court today for the second day of his trial. The jury returned a unanimous verdict of not guilty after just 45 minutes of deliberation.

The taxi driver, who holds a senior position in the New Testament Church of God in Commercial Street, Newport, was accused of punching Mr Butler in the jaw on the zebra crossing outside Newport railway station.

Mr Hutchinson had been waiting for fares outside the station on the evening of the incident, after three Six Nations rugby matches had been on earlier on in the day.

The court heard how large crowds of rugby fans poured out the station and Mr Hutchinson, spotting a gap in the stream of people crossing the zebra crossing, began to edge his taxi forward to leave the taxi rank.

Witnesses who had been at the scene told the court how the complainant, Mr Butler, had been trying to cross the road and kicked and banged on Mr Hutchinson’s taxi, shouting that he should have stopped the car.

In his evidence to the court, Mr Hutchinson said he then got out of the car and went around to the other side of the car where Mr Butler was standing.

The prosecution, led by barrister Julian Greenwood, alleged Mr Hutchinson then punched Mr Butler, but the defence maintained the action was not a punch but an elbow in self defence.

Mr Hutchinson said: “He was coming closer and closer towards me, he was very angry. He was swearing and everything, I thought he was going to head butt me. I covered my head with my forearm and that was it. It was a frightened self defence.”

Prosecutor Mr Greenwood told the court Mr Butler was taken to the Royal Gwent Hospital with "significant head injuries" including a fractured skull, concussion, and bleeding on the brain.