A Dorset Police detective has been found not guilty of assaulting his wife by pushing her to the ground.

Detective Constable David Alway was accused of assault causing actual bodily harm to Tamsyn Alway at their home in Bournemouth overnight on Friday December 13 2019.

But a jury at Southampton Crown Court acquitted him of the single charge.

The 41-year-old, who serves with Dorset Police, admitted pushing his wife, who he had separated from, but said he had done it in self-defence and had not meant to hurt her.

He told the trial that his wife had punched him during a previous row and he had pushed her because he feared it would happen again.

The court heard that Mrs Alway suffered a bump to the head and an injured wrist in the fall.

The trial was told that the couple, who had been married for five years, had split but were still living in the same house and sleeping in separate bedrooms when the row occurred.