A GRANDFATHER hugged his son and the pair sobbed uncontrollably in the dock on Friday when the older man was cleared of sexually assaulting his five-year-old grandson.

His son was also cleared of child cruelty by a jury of eight men and four women at Gloucester Crown Court.

Jurors reached their verdicts on all four counts after deliberating for approximately three hors.

There were emotional scenes outside the courtroom as family members and friends of the two Wotton-Under-Edge defendants hugged each other and wept openly with relief after the week-long trial.

The grandfather had been accused of abusing his grandson on a number of occasions.

His son - the boy’s father – was said to have witnessed the abuse on occasions but allegedly did nothing to stop it.

The defendants vigorously denied all the allegations and the court heard from witnesses during the trial that the grandson had a “wonderful relationship” with both his father and grandfather and nothing untoward had ever happened.

Judge Michael Cullum, in summing up the case to the jury, said: “If the boy’s accusations are false then he continues to tell the most terrible lies about a loving father and grandfather.”

He went on: “Whether or not the accusations were prompted by other relatives, both defendants would have been seriously wronged (if found guilty).”