A man who fell from the upper tier of a stand during a football match and injured fans below has been found not guilty of assault.

Maidstone United supporter John Ryan fell on to Joanne Peters and her partner Aaron Rose at Ipswich Town's Portman Road ground during an FA Cup clash in January 2024.

Ryan, 62, of Railway Street, Chatham, Kent, denied one count of assault by beating and one count of actual bodily harm and told Ipswich Crown Court he had been unable to stop himself during goal celebrations.

Ryan could be seen crying in the dock as the jury returned verdicts of not guilty to both charges and said afterwards "it's been very stressful".

Peters had been in tears when she told the court she initially thought the supporters' box behind her had collapsed and she thought she "could have died".

Ryan had been one of thousands of Maidstone United supporters who saw their non-league side win 2-1 over Ipswich, who were heading to promotion from the Championship that season.

He told the court the game had been "the biggest match in the club's history" and he had been celebrating a "special" goal.

The jury was told he had been in Cobbold Stand upper tier when he fell, slid down the sloping roof that covers the boxes, and landed on the Ipswich supporters below.

Ryan told the jury he had been unsure if he had been pushed or his foot had slipped when he fell.

Prosecutor Simon Gladwell previously told the trial Ryan had drunk five cans of lager ahead of the match.

Peters said she had suffered "elements of whiplash" as well as numbness in her hands and internal bruising, while Rose told the jury he had been kicked in the head.

Rose believed Ryan had been drunk and told the trial "it wouldn't take a scientist to work it out".

"[The jury] came to the right conclusion anyway," Ryan told reporters outside court.

"When you score a goal like that the last thing on your mind is what's going to happen.

"I just remember going down the stairs and I hit that barrier, fell over it and that was it."

Asked if he would like to say anything to Peters and Rose, Ryan said: "I'm sorry, it was an accident.

"I'm sorry it happened, what more can I say?"

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