Singer disappointed at jury decision

Girls Aloud star Cheryl Tweedy insisted she was not a racist tonight after she was found guilty of attacking a black nightclub attendant.

The 20-year-old said she was “stunned and disappointed” after a jury at Kingston Crown Court found her guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

But the singer said she was pleased that she had been cleared of another charge of racially aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Judge Richard Haworth sentenced Tweedy to 120 hours community service and ordered her to pay compensation to victim Sophie Amogbokpa and prosecution costs.

The judge said it was an “unpleasant piece of drunken violence” and said Tweedy, of Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne, had shown “no remorse whatsoever”.

After the sentencing, the pop star stood outside court with her mother and tour manager while her solicitor Paul Harris read out a statement on her behalf.

In it she said she was “thankful that the jury had accepted that this incident has nothing to do with race.”

The dark-haired star added: “I am not a racist and anyone who knows me knows I would not say anything racist.”

Tweedy punched part-time law student Ms Amogbokpa, aged 39, in a row over a handful of lollipops in the lavatory of The Drink Nightclub in Guildford, Surrey on January 11.

Ms Amogbokpa was left with a black eye and bruising.