A MAN who was jailed after a jury convicted him of beating and burning the mother of his children at a travellers’ site near Swindon, has been cleared and freed on appeal.

Top judges at London’s Criminal Court of Appeal overturned the conviction of Kane Jones, 22, now of Booker Lane, High Wycombe, ruling the jury’s verdict “unsafe”.

Mr Jones, formerly of Calcutt Park, Cricklade, was caged for two years and given a three-year restraining order at Swindon Crown Court on February 26.

He was found guilty of two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Allowing his appeal today, Lady Justice Macur ruled Jones had not been given a fair trial.

It was the prosecution case that, on June 22 last year, an argument started between Mr Jones and his long-term partner, who was 17.

Crown lawyers said she suffered widespread bruising, welts where she said she had been whipped with a cable and a burn that she said was caused by a cigarette lighter.

She later told police that she “no longer” supported her partner’s prosecution, although she said her account of what happened was “accurate”.

On the day of trial, she did not attend to give evidence despite having told police three days earlier that she intended to do so.

Lady Justice Macur said no proactive steps were taken to ensure she turned up in court.

The court was informed her whereabouts were unknown and the judge allowed the trial to go ahead on the basis of her written testimony.

Charley Pattison, for Mr Jones, argued this meant his conviction should be overturned.

Lady Justice Macur said there were “many practical measures” that could have been taken to ensure the victim was located and attended court.

She said that, “however fanciful” Mr Jones’ defence might be, he had the right to cross-examine the victim but was unable to do so.

The appeal judge, sitting with Mr Justice Walker and Judge Martyn Zeidman QC, ruled that the “trial should not have commenced on the day it did”.

She concluded that the “lack of due process leads us to conclude that it would be incorrect to uphold this conviction”.

Tara Wolfe, for the prosecution, did not seek a re-trial.