A father of two has been cleared of assaulting a mother in a row over buggy space on a bus.

Wayne McCatty, 35, denied causing Nova Whiting-Willett actual bodily harm and assaulting her husband Anders on the 85 bus on Kingston Hill on September 19 last year.

Jurors at Kingston Crown Court found Mr McCatty not guilty of both counts this afternoon.

The electrician from Stroud Crescent, Putney, had denied both charges and said he acted in self defence.

Previously, the court heard the pair became involved in a heated argument after Mr McCatty boarded the bus in Norbiton and asked Mrs Whiting-Willett to make room for his buggy.

Mrs Whiting-Willett broke down in tears when she described Mr McCatty pulling her to the floor of the bus, kicking and punching her, and banging her head on the floor.

However, Mr McCatty said she was the aggressor, swearing at him when he politely asked her to move her pushchair, and becoming racially abusive.

He said she moved across the aisle to hit him after he made comments about her weight, after which she fell to the floor because the bus was going down Kingston Hill.

He said he punched her once to stop her getting up and attacking him.

The jury heard he tried to get his buggy when the bus stopped, and attempted to shoe Mrs Whiting-Willett away with his feet.

He said he punched her again to stop her getting up, but denied kicking her.

The court heard Mr McCatty voluntarily surrendered to police after seeing his photograph published in newspapers as part of a police appeal in December 2010.

He told the jury he regretted not reporting the incident to police.