A CARE worker broke down in tears of relief after he was cleared of assaulting a client on Christmas Day.

Christopher Mark Fisher, 38, was found not guilty of two acts of common assault following a one-day trial yesterday.

It had been alleged the father-of-one from Maes Glyndwr in Treuddyn, Mold, committed both counts while working at a care home in Chester Road, Wrexham.

Fisher told the court he lost his job as a result of the accusations, even though he had been in the industry for more than 18 years.

Prosecutor Andrew Warman told Chester, Ellesmere Port and Neston Magistrates Court that in the first instance a fellow employee saw Fisher grab a patient’s arm and twist his wrist back causing him to scream in pain.

He said: “The second incident occurred in the kitchen area. They had all been eating dinner.

“The defendant approached him from behind, touches his right shoulder, forces his hand down and makes him walk out of the room. It did not cause him injuries but it did make him scream.”

Fellow employee Richard Rooney gave evidence that he saw both incidents of abuse against the client who had Down’s Syndrome and mild autism.

“I was helping another worker make Christmas dinner when I needed to go to the toilet. I noticed a raised voice and when I looked, the client was reaching to touch Chris’s face.

“Mr Fisher bent his arm which caused him quite a lot of pain.”

Defending, Emma Simoes said Mr Rooney had not done anything to intervene in either instance because he had “misinterpreted the situation”.

She added he had not followed protocol and notified the proper authorities straight away.

Fisher told the court: “A couple of weeks later I had been going to work when one of my supervisors pulled me to the side and said there had been a complaint and I had been suspended.

“I was in complete shock. It was not something I was expecting.”