Three defendants cleared at court over man's death

James Roberts died after he was hit by a car in Scarborough in March

Three men have been cleared by a jury over the death of a man in Scarborough.

James Roberts, 24, from Alne, North Yorkshire, died after being struck by a white Audi being driven on Silver Street in Scarborough in the early hours of 8 March.

The driver of the car, Cory Davies, 27, was found not guilty of both murder and manslaughter after a trial at Leeds Crown Court, which concluded on Friday.

The passengers in the car, Derek Roye, 67, and Jakub Sobczak, 32, were also cleared of manslaughter.

Their trial heard how Mr Roberts and the defendants were unknown each other but had got into a dispute after leaving the Opera House Casino in the town centre.

Police officers intervened and the groups went their separate ways before clashing again minutes later.

Prosecutor Peter Moulson KC told the court Mr Roberts was thought to have assaulted Mr Sobczak during the second confrontation.

CCTV footage captured the defendants heading back to an address on Victoria Park Avenue where they all lived before returning to the town centre in Mr Davies' Audi.

Jurors heard Mr Roberts, who was described as a "loving son, brother and uncle" by his family, suffered a fractured skull after being hit by the car and died at the scene a short time later.

Mr James Roberts' family again paid tribute to him following the verdicts

None of the defendants disputed being in the car, but all of them denied the charges against them.

During an interview with police, Mr Davies said Mr Sobczak was "angry" after he ended up on the floor following a fight with Mr Roberts.

He claimed he had been trying to calm his co-defendant down by taking him for a drive.

Mr Davies said he had seen a man in the road on Silver Street and "moved to the right" to try and drive around him before he felt something similar to a "speed bump" underneath his vehicle.

Mr Sobczak told police he was "extremely drunk" and said "at no point" did he agree "to cause anyone any harm".

Mr Roye also said there was "no planning" involved and claimed he had not seen the collision take place.

In a statement released after the verdicts, James's mum Jen and sister Kim said they were "deeply heartbroken" by his death.

"He was such a hard-working young man, and his family were the epitome of his universe, just as he was ours.

"He was the glue to our family and without that, without him, we are forever serving this horrific lifelong sentence without him."

James's dad John added: "Whatever the verdict, it won't bring my son back.

"Nothing can repair the massive James-sized hole in our lives, he meant so much to so many people."