A photographer found guilty of assaulting Heather Mills as he tried to take her picture today had his conviction quashed after a court heard she was too stressed to attend his appeal hearing.

A photographer was spared a jail term today and sentenced to a 140-hour community order for assaulting Heather Mills-McCartney in a subway as he tried to take her picture.

The personal trainer of Heather Mills-McCartney told a court how he sought to protect her after she was assaulted by a photographer.