A man has been cleared of racially abusing the Indian supervisor of a toy shop in Churchill Square, Brighton.

But Lee Gumbrell, 20, formerly of Swallow Court, Whitehawk, Brighton, was found guilty of an alternative charge of using threatening words or behaviour.

Gumbrell had been accused of making racist comments to Resham Ghelani at the Disney Store.

A jury at Hove Crown Court unanimously found him not guilty of racially aggravated harassment yesterday.

Kelly Town, 24, of Haybourne Close, Whitehawk, had denied using threatening words or behaviour to Miss Ghelani during the same incident on October 18, last year.

She was unanimously cleared by the jury, which spent 90 minutes considering its verdict after a two-day trial.

It was alleged that both Gumbrell and Mrs Town had threatened to slash Miss Ghelani's face during the incident at the store. Both denied the claim.

The court heard that Gumbrell had become upset after seeing the supervisor looking at him and using her radio to call security as he walked past.

Giving evidence, Gumbrell said Miss Ghelani did the same thing every time she saw him. He said: "They think I am a shoplifter, but I am not."

Mr Recorder Miller asked for pre-sentence reports on Gumbrell and adjourned the hearing until the week beginning September 9. Gumbrell was released on unconditional bail.