A BRIERLEY Hill man has been cleared of dangerous driving in the aftermath of a confrontation in Sedgely.

At Wolverhampton Crown Court Marc Round told a jury he was returning to a petrol forecourt to pick up his girlfriend and another woman after leaving them behind when he had been chased by a man who was wielding a stick.

The 25-year-old, who was accused of aiming his car at another man, maintained he was fearful for the safety of his girlfriend and his main priority was to quickly get her away from the scene.

Mr Round said: "I am not going to leave the mother of my child at the petrol station with him, if that makes me bad then I am bad."

He told prosecutor Edward Soulsby: "Would you leave the mother of your child with a man that had just attacked me?"

The court heard he pulled onto the forecourt in his car at the same time as the other man following an altercation between the pair at The Clifton public house in Sedgley's Bull Ring.

Mr Round, of Robin Hood Road, pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving and jurors took just 64 minutes to consider the evidence at the end of his trial before unanimously finding him not guilty.

Mr Soulsby claimed Mr Round had deliberately driven at the other man in his Peugeot 106 leaving him with minor injuries.

But Paul Mytton, defending, read a statement to the court from Robert Piggott who had been a passenger in Mr Round's car.

He said they pulled up at the garage on Birmingham New Road at the same time as the other man who was with friends in a VW Polo.

Mr Piggott said their way was blocked by the VW and as a consequence Round had to drive onto the pavement where the other man armed with the stick was standing.