The case against a man accused of conspiring to rob a York newsagent was thrown out of court after no evidence was offered.

A verdict of not guilty was entered at York Crown Court for John Fletcher Moretta, aged 28, in connection with an attempted robbery of Tilstons newsagents, Garfield Terrace, York, last November.

Moretta, who lived in Carleton Street, off Leeman Road, at the time of the alleged offence, appeared at York Crown Court in April this year with Edward Francis Hardy, aged 21, of no fixed address, who pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and will be sentenced tomorrow.

A third man, Richard Graham Stubbs, aged 24, of St Paul's Terrace, York, was also originally charged with the alleged conspiracy, but the Crown Prosecution Service stopped the case against him at York magistrates court.