A WOMAN spoke of her relief after being cleared of attacking her terminally-ill father’s partner in a clash as his home was being cleared.

Susan Roche denied inflicting grievous bodily harm on Angela Marcantonio, in the incident dating from June 1, 2013, when her family was following her father, Robbie Howey’s wishes, of putting his affairs in order prior to his death.

The well-respected builder was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer months earlier and he went on to die, aged 71, in July, last year.

Mrs Roche was accused of punching Mrs Marcantonio twice, pushing her over and repeatedly kicking her, in the garage at Mr Howey’s self-built home, in Waldridge, near Chester-le-Street, which was being cleared prior to being put up for sale.

Durham Crown Court heard the confrontation was triggered by the removal of Mrs Marcantonio’s clothing from storage in a loft room to the garage, without her knowledge, while she was at work, at one of her family’s coffee shops, in Newcastle.

On her return she was said to be agitatedly looking through the clothing in the garage when Mrs Roche went in to “calm her”.

The court heard Mrs Marcantonio suffered a collapsed lung and was heavily bruised in the incident.

Mrs Roche, 48, of Whitehill Hall Gardens, Chester-le-Street, said she responded to being aggressively poked by slapping Mrs Marcantonio and, in then “grappling” with her, both fell over, and she possibly landed on the frailer, older woman, on the concrete garage floor.

The incident ended when other family members present pulled them apart.

During the course of the three-day trial, the hearing was told Mr Howey had excluded his partner from his will, drawn up three days earlier, as he had carried out substantial building work on her home in Chester-le-Street.

But he had made provision for her to be repaid £163,000 she previously loaned him to complete a building development, from the proceeds of the sale of his home.

Following the jury’s unanimous ‘not guilty’ verdict, Mrs Roche said it was as if a two-year burden had been lifted from her.

Speaking with her sister, Paula, she said: “This whole episode has been vindictive, nasty and dirty, at a time we were trying to grieve over our wonderful dad.

“It has really bothered us that this hasn’t given the true measure of my father.

“He was a true gentleman and very well respected. There was not a space in church at his funeral.

“He was the strongest man going through all this, a real gentle giant.”

Mrs Roche, who runs a beauty and hair salon in Newcastle, said she plans to celebrate her acquittal with a foreign holiday with her sister.