A maths teacher has been convicted of assault after squirting his ex-partner with a water pistol.

Timothy Gledhill, 40, wept in court when he was told a judge would not be overturning the conviction.

Gledhill feared professional ruin after he was found guilty of soaking his furious victim with a child's toy in a 'humiliating' attack during two heated rows.

Timothy Gledhill (pictured left and right), 40, wept in court when he was told a judge would not be overturning the conviction

During the appeal he was asked if the water had struck Catherine Weir in the attack and Gledhill told the judge and two magistrates that it was a question of probability.

He said he had fired the water pistol and could not rule out that water had not accidentally hit her, but added: 'I haven't done anything wrong.'

Canterbury Crown Court was played a recording of the incident, which happened on a bridge in Canterbury, made by Ms Weir in which she was heard to shout: 'Stop it, stop it. Stop shooting at me.'

Gledhill told the appeal panel: 'She was just trying to get me into trouble. It isn't illegal to hold a water pistol. It's just a toy.'

Judge Nigel Van Der Bijl and the magistrates dismissed the appeal saying they could not accept Gledhill's version of events.

The judge said: 'What you did wasn't funny. It was done to humiliate your former partner.

'You thought you were being clever in covering your tracks. But she was a victim of an assault and there is no doubt about it.

'You knew perfectly well what you were doing. You did it to in some way humiliate her and to put one over on her.'

Gledhill voluntarily left Canterbury College in February and took up a post at Canterbury Academy.

He spent a significant amount trying to clear his name and failed - but the teacher has had the full support of his new school.

Head teacher Phil Karnavas said Gledhill has spent several thousands of pounds trying to clear his name.

He said: 'It has left most of us somewhat surprised that A, it got that far and B, we've ended where we have.

Canterbury Crown Court (pictured) was played a recording of the incident made by Ms Weir in which she was heard to shout: 'Stop it, stop it. Stop shooting at me'

'Mr Gledhill continues to have my full professional and personal support.

'The bottom line is he's a really nice, honourable and decent bloke that has found himself in a situation that none of us would like to find ourselves.

'He was so morally offended by it and so upset by the fact that he was carrying the record for something he didn't recognise as being anything other than being a bit daft.

'It's cost him a significant amount of money and has experienced a significant degree of nervous anxiety and professional stress.

'I think spraying someone with a water pistol doesn't really seem to me to be an offence to public safety let alone a halfway appropriate use of public money.'