Youth is cleared over take-away killing

A teenager was cleared yesterday of killing an 86-year-old man who was robbed of a takeaway meal after playing bingo.

The jury at Cardiff Crown Court took less than an hour to find the 16-year-old not guilty of manslaughter and robbery. William Chivers, a retired engineer, was only 150 yards from his home in Swffryd, near Blackwood, South Wales when he was robbed. He was taken to hospital with multiple injuries, but died six weeks later.

Gregory Bull, for the prosecution, told the jury that as the bag with the take-away meal was grabbed, Mr Chivers hit his head against a wall and fell to the ground. Before the robbery, in September last year, Mr Chivers had lived a full and independent life.

After the verdict Mr Chivers' son, Anthony Chivers, said the family was disgusted with the outcome. He said: "My father was mugged on my birthday and then looked what happened to him. It's been a very upsetting ordeal." A spokesman for Gwent Police said: "We are disappointed."