A FORMER trainee assistant manager at an Ipswich hotel wept with relief yesterday after he was cleared of indecently assaulting a woman.Lewis Hunt, 20, shouted out "yes" as the foreman of the jury, at Ipswich Crown Court, returned the not guilty verdict.

A FORMER trainee assistant manager at an Ipswich hotel wept with relief yesterday after he was cleared of indecently assaulting a woman.

Lewis Hunt, 20, shouted out "yes" as the foreman of the jury, at Ipswich Crown Court, returned the not guilty verdict.

During a two-day trial it was alleged that Hunt, who had worked at the Great White Horse Hotel, had touched a woman in her 20s between the legs with his hand.

Hunt, of Clavering Road, Braintree, who had denied the offence, claimed that the incident had been an accident.

He told the court that he had liked the woman and had asked her out on a previous occasion.

He said he had been on friendly terms with her and they had confided in each other about personal problems.

On the night in question he had intended to give her a tap on her thigh as he walked past her. However, because he had been drinking that night, he was uncoordinated and had accidentally brushed his hand over her groin.

He denied intentionally putting his hand between her legs over her trousers.

The court heard that Hunt no longer works at the Great White Horse and now worked as a cashier at a betting office.