I just want to go home

DCI Banks actor Tompkinson not guilty in GBH trial

- JEREMY ARMSTRONG

ACTOR Stephen Tompkinson was yesterday cleared of causing grievous bodily harm to a drunken man in a verdict that saved his career.

The DCI Banks and Ballykissangel star breathed a sigh of relief as the jury's decision was announced, and said: "I just want to go home."

The 57-year-old had consistently denied punching Karl Poole in an early-morning confrontation outside the star's home two years ago, saying it would have been "career suicide".

Actress and writer Nichola McAuliffe, who gave character evidence for Stephen, said after the verdict: "For more than a year, his life has been put on hold. Now he can pick up the threads."