A MAN accused of the knifepoint robbery of a mother and her two young children has been cleared by a jury at York Crown Court.

Speaking outside court, Paul Leslie Dobbin, 31, of Fossway, York, said: "I feel great."

The jury took less than 30 minutes to clear him of robbing Katrina Archer of £70 and two valuable rings.

The court heard that Ms Archer had been walking along an alleyway between Fourth Avenue, and Bowes Avenue, in Tang Hall, York, when she heard someone shouting her name.

She claimed she turned to see Mr Dobbin, who she remembered was one of her neighbours for a time during her childhood. She also said she remembered Mr Dobbin as he was a former friend of her brother.

Ms Archer claimed Mr Dobbin asked her if he could borrow some money.

She said: "I said no, the money I had was for my bills. Then there were some cross words, it started getting a bit nasty.

"Then he showed me the knife. First it was just in his hand then he pushed a button, something flicked out, I believe it was the blade, it was shiny.

"He said 'See this, I want your money'. My son used to wear quite a thick gold chain, he grabbed hold of the jacket, it was obvious he was trying to get the chain.

"I pushed him away, took some of my own jewellery off, and said take these, leave my bairn alone. Then I handed him the money and he ran off."

But yesterday's hearing then heard from defence witness Lisa Pearson, who said Mr Dobbin had been with her at the time of the robbery, on October 17, last year.

She said: "He couldn't have done it, he was with me all morning. We popped out to the shops and went to his sisters. That was it."

Mr Dobbin told the court he had been to Tang Hall that day, but had not gone into the alleyway.

After being cleared, Mr Dobbin said he had spent six months on remand in Hull Prison before his trial came to court.

He said: "I had been told to expect five years if I had been convicted, so six months doesn't seem too bad compared to that.

"I was confident I'd be cleared because I didn't do it. I'm off to celebrate now."

Mr Dobbin's girlfriend, Kelly Watson, said she still had presents wrapped up from last Christmas waiting for her partner.

She said: "It has been hard, these last few months. This is a big relief."

Updated: 10:42 Thursday, July 10, 2003