Landlord accused of assault after pushing '˜stranger' out of house

A landlord who pushed a council worker out of one of his properties has been cleared of assault.
Landlord Asif Hussain was found not guilty of assaulting a Blackpool council employeeLandlord Asif Hussain was found not guilty of assaulting a Blackpool council employee
Landlord Asif Hussain was found not guilty of assaulting a Blackpool council employee

Asif Hussain, 46, was sent a text by an elderly tenant in May who said there was a ‘strange man’ trying to get into her basement-floor house on Bond Street.

Mr Hussain, who was carrying out work on the top floor of the property at the time, said he confronted the man who told him he was from Blackpool Council.

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But Mr Hussain claims the council worker had no warrant to prove he was allowed inside.

The pair became embroiled in a scuffle where Mr Hussain pushed the other man outside.

Mr Hussain said: “Because he didn’t have a warrant I asked him to leave. As far as I knew he could have been a scammer. I didn’t know who he was or where he came from at that point.

“I had asked him to leave and with God as my witness he grabbed the door and refused. I said to him I was escorting him off the property. I was pushing him upstairs while he was pushing down. I managed to sling him out of the front door.”

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A short time later, Mr Hussain said he was arrested by police and charged with assault. The case was thrown out at magistrates without going to trial.

He said he had to hire a private investigator to take an independent witness statement from the elderly tenant who saw the incident unfold.

He said: “I’m pleased with the result from the court, but I’m not happy with the police and I’m not happy with the council. I should never have been put in that situation.

“I feel very depressed. I’ve been arrested and taken to court and treated like a criminal, and I didn’t deserve that.”

Blackpool Council declined to comment.