A LEYTON Orient community football coach has been cleared of breaking a woman’s arm and beating her son as he came to her aid.

Yacine Rabia, 25, was accused of attacking Anne Marie Shinkwin, 39, and smashing the nose of Daryl Reilly, 18, during a confrontation on Thursday, March 18.

But following a week-long trial Snaresbrook Crown Court, jurors found him not guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and causing actual bodily harm.

Mr Rabia, who trains Leyton Orient's under-13 squad and also teaches sports sessions at schools across the borough, admitted punching Mr Reilly but told the court he was acting in self defence.

Jurors heard how Mr Rabia, of James Lane in Leyton, became embroiled in a dispute with Ms Shinkwin following a row between her and his fiancée, Elizabeth Elsie, 24.

There were a number of heated text message exchanges between the two women over Ms Elsie's mother and the care arrangements of her two other daughters, aged 12 and 13.

Mr Rabia told the court he travelled to Ms Shinkwin's home in Dagenham in an attempt to calm the situation. When he arrived he was pushed by an angry Ms Shinkwin and then attacked by her son, who grappled with him on the ground and then threatened him with a 15inch knife, the court heard.

But John Carmichael, prosecuting, challenged his version of events.

He said: "I suggest you threatened Anne Marie, you threatened to 'sort her out', you broke her arm and you broke the nose of her son. Then in your rage you said you'd 'done' them."

But Mr Rabia said: “No I didn't. I got assaulted and because I didn't go to the police first I'm the one standing there [the dock]."

He said he did not know how Ms Shinkwin, a recovering cancer patient, had broken her arm, but said he suspected her injuries had been caused by her fainting during the brief “tangle”.

The defence also pointed out that there were discrepancies in the witnesses' version of events, and that someone could be heard shouting “not a knife Daryl” in the background of a 999 call made to police.

Mr Rabia, who also worked as a part-time bus driver, told the court he was about to start a job in the fire brigade just weeks after the incident, but was unable to take up his position because of his arrest.

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