A GWENT police officer wept with relief in court yesterday after being cleared of assaulting a woman.

Risca-based police sergeant Peter Whitefoot, aged 50, of The Highway, New Inn, was cleared by magistrates at Caerphilly of a charge of assaulting 28-year-old Heidi Lyn Beacham.

Sergeant Whitefoot, (pictured) a police officer with 21 years of experience, wept with relief as the chairwoman of the magistrates, Jeanette Knight, read out a not guilty verdict following a two-day trial.

She said his actions had been "necessary to deal with the situation".

After the hearing, Sergeant Whitefoot, who was suspended following the incident which sparked the case on April 15 last year, said: "It's been a long eight months and I'm extremely pleased with the informed decision of the magistrates.

"They showed a great degree of knowledge and I'm thankful for that - I'm just looking forward to having some time off with my wife."

He added that he was eager to get back on with his life - as it had been on hold while the proceedings hung over him.

However, Sgt Whitefoot could still face a separate, internal Gwent Police inquiry, force officials confirmed last night.

A spokesman said that Gwent's deputy chief constable, Brian Davies, is due to decide whether to end his suspension and allow him to go back to work, or bring internal conduct proceedings against him.

Throughout the court case, Sgt Whitefoot had repeatedly denied using "excessive force" when restraining Mrs Beacham.

The court heard that Mrs Beacham had been remonstrating with police officers after they arrested her husband, who had been fighting another man.

Sgt Whitefoot had vehemently denied her allegations that he held her head into the ground and placed both his knees on her upper back.

He said Mrs Beacham had fallen to the floor with the momentum he used when he pulled her away from officers she was behaving "aggressively towards."

Earlier in proceedings, Ian Wilson, defending, produced several witnesses who said Mrs Beacham had resisted arrest.

One witness, Michelle Loisz, who said she had been attacked by Heidi Beacham just before she was arrested, said the claimant had been acting "mental" and was "running around like a lunatic" on Elm Drive.