Ex-Wasps player Lea Tichener is hoping to get his rugby career back on track after a jury cleared him of assaulting a fellow bouncer.

Immediately after the verdict at York Crown Court, he spoke of his relief that his 16-month nightmare was over.

It began when bouncer Dominic M'Benga accused him of attacking him in an Indian restaurant and breaking several of his facial bones on January 2, 2000.

But after hearing from both men, the jury of eight men and four woman acquitted Mr Tichener, 29, of Foxton, Woodthorpe, of causing grievous bodily harm.

They took three hours and thirty-five minutes to reach their verdict at the end of a three-day trial.

"It is a massive weight off my shoulders," said the rugby man. "Justice has been done. It has been proved I wasn't guilty of this.

"It (the case) has been going on for 16 months and has had a big effect on me and on my home life. It has affected my family's well-being and been a big worry for me.

"It has affected my rugby playing and I am certainly looking to get back on track with that."

He added that he had had difficulty concentrating on his sport with the court case on his mind.

Speaking of his other career as a doorman, Mr Tichener said he was a professional. A policeman gave a character reference to the court in which he described how Mr Tichener the doorman had dealt with a difficult customer as well as he could himself.

Mr Tichener planned to celebrate with a Jack Daniels and coke and left the court with friends who had supported him during the trial.

He told the jury he was on a night out with team mates from York Rugby League Club when he encountered Mr M'Benga in the Mogul Restaurant in Tanner Row.

The court heard he had not been drinking, but Mr M'Benga had been "loud" and "drunk" and acted so sarcastically and aggressively he had punched him on the nose in self-defence.

The bouncer said in evidence he had had four vodkas and cokes and a pint of beer but felt fine.

Mr Tichener last played for York Wasps on 30 June 2000, the final match of last season.

Updated: 08:41 Friday, April 06, 2001