A FORMER brewery boss has had his conviction for assaulting a man in row over access near his pub overturned.

Simon Buckley, who founded Evan Evans and is now the premises supervisor of the White Horse pub in Llandeilo, had been convicted of assaulting Gerald Jones following a confrontation between the pair in July las year.

Mr Jones had been leaving a property he owned at the rear of the White Horse pub, which is accessible through an archway which runs from the main road on Rhosmaen Street.

But a dispute over the right of way meant Mr Buckley, of Abbey Terrace in Llandeilo, called out to Mr Jones, asking to speak to him about the use of the route and when he was ignored, he approached him and grabbed him by the arm.

Mr Jones, 81, told the appeal hearing at Swansea Crown Court that he had been using the route for the past 19 years and did not wish to speak to Mr Buckley “for a variety of reasons.”

He added: “He forcibly grabbed my arm. He restrained me and I ended up against the wall. It was a very traumatic experience.”

Matthew Paul, for Mr Buckley, said: “It has always been accepted there was some contact and that any contact could amount to assault.

“But there was no reasonable case. Mr Buckley was acting to prevent trespass through the rear passage way of the White Horse.

“The statements made are substantially at odds with what you can see happened. They are exaggerated and overblown.”

Allowing the appeal, Judge Patrick Curran concluded: “Mr Buckley was entitled to use reasonable force to stop trespass by Mr Jones. The CCTV footage shows that the force used was minimal.”

The conviction was quashed.