Cuckolded hubby Thomas Steenson has walked free from court – after a jury acquitted him of attacking his 78-year-old cheating neighbour.

Mr Steenson, 52 had been accused of breaking the arm of his wife's lover.

But a jury at Canterbury Crown Court took just three hours to find him not guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm. He had denied the charge.

Donna East, prosecuting, had told Canterbury Crown Court Mr Steenson and architect John Floydd had been neighbours when they lived near each other in Lucilla Avenue, Kingsnorth.

She said: “They used to be friends. However, it would seem Mr Floydd had been having an affair with the defendant’s wife, who cleaned for him.

“Naturally enough this led to the end of their friendship.”

She claimed that in June last year, Mr Floydd was in his front garden when he shouted to his neighbour: “Hi Tommy Cat!”

“It was perhaps ill-advised given the state of their relationship, “ said Miss East.

Floydd would claim that that he was attacked by Mr Steenson who looked “absolutely wild” – and suffered cuts to his eye, a bruise to his lips and a compound fracture to his right arm during the fight.

A police officer who went to investigate said that Mr Steenson told him that: “His wife had been having an affair with Floydd and he was goaded by Floydd who had called him a ‘tomcat’.

Mr Steenson added that it had been “a bad year” and he had been looking for a job and had difficulty paying bills.

He said it had an impact on his relationship with wife Carol and two months prior to the incident “discovered that she had been having an affair with Floydd behind his back – after they began sending each other love notes.

Miss East said that, during the police interview, Mr Steenson told officers that Mr Floydd “believed he could offer the defendant’s wife a better life”.

But she agreed to stay with her husband and “Mr Floydd just couldn’t believe it” and continued with his attentions towards Mrs Steenson.

Mr Steenson said that Mr Floydd had driven his car towards him and he had defended himself.

After the jury’s verdict, the court heard the two families were no longer neighbours.