The former mayor of Fairford who resigned after being arrested for an alleged assault has been formally cleared after the prosecution dropped the charge against him.
James Nicholls, 47, of Yells Way, was to have stood trial by Cheltenham Magistrates at Cirencester Courthouse today, Tuesday, July 5 on a charge of assaulting a man by beating at the Marlborough Arms, Fairford, on April 8 this year.
He had pleaded not guilty.
But yesterday, Monday, at Cheltenham Magistrates Court, the prosecution discontinued the charge.
The court had been told at an earlier hearing that the charge arose from an alleged incident when a man was seated at the bar with his partner around 10pm.
There was said to have been a heated discussion between him and Mr Nicholls during which a punch with a clenched fist was allegedly thrown.
The court heard the other man suffered a cut above the eye but he did not require medical treatment.
Mr Nicholls had denied the charge on the grounds that he was using lawful self-defence.
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Mr Nicholls grew up in Fairford and had served with the army for 20 years. He became a town councillor and was appointed deputy mayor of Fairford in 2019.
He served as the town mayor for a year from May 2020 and was unanimously re-elected for a second term in 2021.
He resigned as both mayor and town councillor following the allegation being made against him in April.
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