A NEIGHBOUR has been cleared of firing a crossbow at a friend after they came to blows over money.

John Higham was found not guilty of affray and causing actual bodily harm over an alleged incident involving a hammer and a crossbow.

Higham, aged 50, who always maintained his innocence, had been accused of attacking Anthony Fogg with a hammer and of firing a 12 inch crossbow bolt at his van in March last year.

Bolton Crown Court was told the dispute came after Higham agreed to lend his neighbour £1,000 after he fell on hard times.

The court heard that the pair had known each other for about a year and became friends after living in the same property in Holmeswood Road, Great Lever, but in separate flats.

Giving evidence, Mr Fogg claimed that Higham became more aggressive when he told him that he could not afford the payment one month, after already paying back about £700.

It was alleged that on the morning of the incident, Higham was waiting for Mr Fogg with a hammer and began to attack him, and then chased him through the back garden.

The court was told that Higham returned to his house but then later returned with a crossbow and fired a bolt at his neighbour's van, as he was driving off.

Higham denied that the incident with the crossbow ever took place and said the van mirror, which was said to have been hit by the crossbow bolt, had been damaged before the day in question.

The court was told that Higham owns a crossbow and that he uses it in his back garden for target practice.

He said that crossbow bolts often ricocheted out of his garden, accounting for the bolt found near Mr Fogg's van.

The jury could not reach a verdict on one count of possession of an offensive weapon — a hammer — in a public place.

The Crown Prosecution Service will now decide whether to take further action over this charge next week.