FOOTBALL star John Terry's father has been cleared of a racist attack on an Asian man.

Ted Terry, 59, was accused of racially abusing railway customer services worker Amarjit Talafair before headbutting him outside a City of London pub on March 22 last year.

A jury of seven men and five women took an hour and 20 minutes to find him not guilty at the Old Bailey of one count of racially-aggravated common assault after a five-day trial.

Terry, of Lennox Close, Chafford Hundred, was also cleared of one count of racially-aggravated fear or provocation of violence.

Terry's colleagues, former schoolboy boxing champion Stephen Niland, 36, of Romford, and Moldova-born Tudor Musteata, 47, of south east London, were also found not guilty of racially-aggravated fear or provocation of violence.

Outside court, Terry said he was "relieved".

He said: "It's been a hard year for all of us. We all felt it was nothing, really. It was stupid."

Defence barristers argued that the prosecution's witnesses all knew each other and had conspired together to back up the racist abuse claims.

Mr Talafair said that he had suffered no injury from Terry's alleged headbutt because he was able to get out of the way in time and admitted calling Terry "fat" and "bald" during the stand-off.

Mr Talafair reported the incident to police the following day after researching Terry online.

Giving evidence, Terry admitted putting his face against Mr Talafair's and calling him a name, but denied headbutting him or racially abusing him.

The father of two and grandfather of six told the jury: "I just said 'f*** off, go back downstairs', things like that. It wasn't no racist stuff."

Terry also denied racially abusing station cleaner Bakeba Mansuila as the group made their way towards the station - although no charges were brought over that incident.