Supermodel harassment trial postponed

A trial in which supermodel Claudia Schiffer was expected to be a witness was today postponed.

Italian kitchen porter Agostino Pomata, 33, is accused of harassing the German model at her Suffolk country mansion.

The trial was due to take place at Sudbury Magistrates Court, Suffolk, on March 27 and 28.

Pomata’s solicitor Greg Perrins told magistrates in Bury St Edmunds he had been detained under the Mental Health Act for six months.

He said the prosecution would now speak to Schiffer and decide if the case should go ahead.

Mr Perrins said Pomata had originally appealed against his detention, and has now withdrawn the appeal.

Ian Devine, prosecuting, said the case would be reviewed again at court in two weeks time.

He said: “We need some time to review the mental health assessment ... and consult with the complainant.”

Pomata, who did not attend the hearing. denies harassing the model at her home, Coldham Hall, Stanningfield, near Bury St Edmunds, between September and November last year.

At the hearing last month the porter had been released on bail by magistrates after he had been detained earlier under the Mental Health Act.

Schiffer and her film producer husband Matthew Vaughn held their wedding celebrations at the mansion last year after they were married at a nearby church.