A man accused of pouring scalding water over a dog and assaulting its owner has had the charges against him dismissed.

Adam Heath had denied he tipped the hot water over a French bulldog during an incident in a garden in Higham in June last year.

The 49-year-old had been charged with causing unnecessary suffering to an animal but had pleaded not guilty to the charge when he appeared before Medway magistrates in January.

Heath, formerly from Higham, but now of Wilson Avenue, Rochester, was also accused of assaulting Obie Achleton on the same day, a charge he also denied.

At the time, the court also heard the bulldog was taken to a vet and was found to have no lasting injury.

Heath was due to stand trial over the matters at Medway Magistrates’ Court on Monday, October 6.

However, the court heard the victim in the case failed to show up for the hearing and the vet called to give evidence was going to say the dog suffered no distress or injury during the alleged incident.

The Crown Prosecution Service’s case was the dog suffered unnecessary suffering during the incident.

The prosecutor, Lorraine Webb, initially asked for a short adjournment so she could get the case reviewed by colleagues.

However, after failing to get hold of prosecution reviewing lawyers in that time, she then asked for the case to be adjourned to a different date to allow more time for the case to be reviewed.

But magistrates refused the adjournment application, so Ms Webb then offered no evidence for both charges, and they were dismissed.