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A man has been found not guilty of a religious hate offence after four severed pigs heads were found outside a community centre which had been the venue for a Muslim-themed event.

Carl Stephens, 34, of The Radleys, Marston Green, was filmed on CCTV leaving the heads outside of the centre on Hermitage Road, Solihull, on April 12.

The defendant claimed he was innocent in front of jurors at Birmingham Crown Court, saying that he had been paid to leave the pigs heads outside of the centre and that he didn't know about the event, which had caused some controversy in the community, being held there.

Stephens denied causing religiously aggravated alarm or distress.

The court heard five days earlier a Muslim themed event had been held at the centre, called Building a Masjid.

On the evening in question the heads were found by a passer-by, along with spit which was linked by DNA evidence to the defendant.

Stephens, who had previously served a ten-year sentence for conspiracy to kidnap, said he had been unaware of any Muslim-themed event at the centre.

He said he had gone to a pub with his brother where he met a man who offered him a lift home in his BMW car.

He said they had driven to Hermitage Road and the man had told him he was going to “drop something off” at the community centre.

Stephens said the driver then asked him if he could make the delivery and passed him some gloves and a knife. He said the man then opened the boot and showed him the pigs heads which were in two bags.

Stephens said he though the request was “strange” but agreed to do it after the man offered him £50.

At the time of the incident there were allegations that the centre had been turned into a mosque without permission.

An on-line petition called for it to be shut down and was signed by more than 2,000 people.