No Further Action for Client Accused of S.47 Assault

Case study summary

Our client was accused of assaulting his neighbour. Part of the incident was filmed and injuries were caused. He called our specialist assault solicitors and his account of self-defence was put forward in interview. Outcome: the police took No Further Action against him.

Case study

Our client was a family man arrested for assaulting his neighbour, contrary to Section 47 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. The allegation was that he threatened his female neighbour before pushing her, causing her to fall and hit her head on the doorstep. She was knocked unconscious and had to go to hospital. Photographs of her injuries were taken and part of the incident was filmed on the complainant's mobile phone.

Our specialist assault solicitors attended at the police station and spent time taking detailed instructions from our client about the incident. It soon became clear that our client had provided a defence of self-defence. As unfortunate as the incident was, our client had acted in self-defence by protecting himself and his property. A decision to put forward an account of this nature and how best to do it, is not a decision to be taken lightly.

His statement was put forward which highlighted previous disputes which had gone on between our client and the complainant, as well as his step by step account of the incident. The police were not aware of the history between them before this.

Despite the evidence against our client, the police accepted his account of self-defence and decided to take No Further Action against him. As a result, our client can return to his life without the burden of a police investigation.