Judge says witness is "too credible"

A British judge has dismissed a case against the robber in a gang attack - because the judge considered the victim to be "too believable" in the witness box:

The court was told that Mrs Dawson had been giving a driving lesson on the Southmead estate in Bristol in December 2007.

Her student was practising hill starts when a gang of youths surrounded the car. The instructor locked the doors but her terrified pupil froze and stamped her foot on the brake, preventing them driving off.

Mrs Dawson locked the doors but one of the yobs smashed her rear window with a brick, reached in and grabbed her laptop before running off.

Mrs Dawson chased him and asked for her computer back but he simply clutched it in his arms and walked away. She then returned to her Ford Focus after she spotted one of the youths rifling through her glove box. She later picked out Perks as that man.

Mrs Dawson suffered a broken nose when she was repeatedly punched in the face by other gang members, who ran off with her mobile...

But the judge halted the trial on its first day because it was based solely on the victim's word against the defendant's - and she was too credible.

The judge told the court: "Denise Dawson was a particularly impressive witness because she showed courage, clarity of thought and was undoubtedly honest.

"The jury may lend more weight to her evidence than her facts allow.

He offered Mrs Dawson a £250 bravery award for her actions.

Found at Nothing To Do With Arbroath.