A SOUTH Somerset district councillor has spoken out after an allegation of assault during a town centre kebab shop brawl was dropped halfway through a trial.

Adam Dance appeared in the dock before Somerset Magistrates this week alongside his sister and her boyfriend, all facing assault charges following the alleged incident at the Star Kebab shop in Yeovil.

Dance was cleared of any wrong doing in the case after the magistrates found there was no case to answer halfway through the two day trial and dismissed the allegation against him.

The other two defendants, BillieJo Rose Dance and Ronnie Lee Young, were both found not guilty of the offences alleged against them.

After the court hearing, the 24-year-old councillor spoke out after saying he had suffered public humiliation since being charged with the offence in June this year.

He said: “I have always said I was not guilty of this offence and this whole court process since June has caused undue stress and upset for both me and my family.

“By going through this process it has really opened my eyes as a councillor about what can happen to people who are in the public domain and how they have to go through so much stress and aggravation.

“I have been on the front page of newspapers and on billboards outside shops and I think it is utterly wrong when you are trying to do a good job for the community.

“I have been portrayed in such a bad light and been judged by people straight away, but I am pleased that the truth has come out and the magistrates sensibly found there is no case to answer.”

Dance, of South Street, South Petherton, pleaded not guilty to a charge of assaulting Emily Caines by beating her during the incident in Stars Lane, Yeovil, on June 12.

BillieJo Rose Dance, 19, also of South Street, South Petherton, denied a charge of assaulting Macaylah Stacey by beating her and Young, 21, of Nelson Way, Yeovil, also pleaded not guilty to assaulting Macaylah Stacey by beating her.

Prosecutor Anita Noerr told the court that the alleged incident occurred at 2am in the Star Kebab Shop where words were said to have been exchanged between the three defendants and the two victims, who were then said to have both been assaulted.

However, in dismissing the case against Adam Dance, and finding the other two defendants not guilty, presiding magistrate Susan Coates said that the witnesses in the case had given clear evidence and had been credible.

“However, this was a very short-lived incident which was anything but clear and was described as a melee,” she said.