A former Southampton teacher accused of sexual activity with a pupil has been cleared by a jury.

Peter Morse, 51, had been charged with two counts of sexual activity with a child under 18 while in a position of trust.

It comes after a former schoolgirl accused of him of sexually abusing her while she was a pupil at Bitterne Park School.

Morse, of Providence Park, Southampton strongly denied the allegations describing them as a “fantasy she created in her head”.

“I absolutely did not coerce her into performing sex acts,” he said giving evidence in court.

A jury at Southampton Crown Court was discharged after failing to reach a verdict in March last year.

But following a retrial ten months later, Morse was found not guilty on both charges on Tuesday.

The verdict was delivered unanimously.