A woman accused of assault following investigations into alleged abuse at a Rochester youth jail has had her case thrown out.

Rebecca Harold, 24, of Grecian Street, Maidstone, was charged following the investigation at Medway Secure Training Centre.

Harold appeared before Medway magistrates in August where she pleaded not guilty to assault by beating.

The case was adjourned and Harold was due to stand trial at the same court this afternoon.

However, magistrates dismissed the case, claiming there was no case to answer after a two-hour hearing.

They claimed they couldn't convict on the evidence they had seen from CCTV.

Ms Harold was hugged by her partner and friends as she left the court.

Six others have been charged over allegations of abuse at the centre.

Christopher Lomax, 34, of Timbertops, Chatham, Jonathan Kane, 34, of Stratford Lane, Gillingham, Matthew Cunningham, 35, of Megby Close, Gillingham, Gareth Evans, 25, of Tintagel Gardens, Rochester, James Beech, 26, of Chilton Avenue, Sittingbourne, and Anthony Dance, 26, of Hailsham, East Sussex, are all still charged with misconduct in a public office.

All appeared before Medway magistrates on October 25, where their case was adjourned and sent to Maidstone Crown Court. They are due to appear there on Tuesday, November 22, and all were granted bail.

The investigation was launched after the BBC’s Panorama programme sent an undercover reporter into the Rochester site between October and December last year.

The documentary, which was broadcast in January, showed staff appearing to use excessive force on some young inmates.

Since the allegations came to light, staff have been re-trained and the Ministry of Justice has taken over the running of the site from private security firm G4S.