Stephen Shayo, 34, was charged with the rape of a woman he had met on a night out in Catterick, North Yorkshire.

A serving soldier who was cleared of rape has said he is 'glad it's all over' after a jury found him innocent at Teesside Crown Court.

Stephen Shayo, 35, was charged with the rape of a woman he had met on a night out in Catterick, North Yorkshire.

The woman told the jury that she was with friends in nearby Richmond before she went to the Louis nightclub for the final part of her night.

The aspiring army officer said his life had been 'terribly and massively affect' after the woman who was 'absolutely paralytically drunk' accused him of rape.

During the trial, the woman conceded that she had had a lot to drink and could not remember large parts of the evening.

The pair spent some time sitting on the grass outside the nightclub before heading back to her house.

The woman said she could not remember getting into a taxi with Mr Shayo, even thought there was CCTV evidence to prove that she did.

Mr Shayo, of Allendale Road, Sunderland, and the woman even shared a hug at one point later in the evening after the defendant appeared upset about the prospect of leaving the EU and the outcome of the Brexit vote.

The woman said she remembered being at the front door with Mr Shayo, but believed that he had left her once she went to bed.

Mr Shayo, who gave his evidence through a Swahili interpreter, said they had sex on more than one occasion and in several different positions on her sofa before heading up to her bedroom.

The jury of 11 women and one man found Mr Shayo not guilty of rape after four hours of deliberation at a trial lasting three days.