FOUR members of a Southampton family have been cleared of attacking a group of brothers.

Four members of the Roath family – Raja, Jaswant, Shakti and Satnam – have been acquitted of affray by jurors at Southampton Crown Court.

They were accused of attacking members of the Pottiwal family in Clovelly Road in Southampton last April just after attending a religious festival in the city.

The court heard how violence erupted on April 13 this year – the day of the Sikh festival of Vaisakhi – following an ongoing dispute between both families.

Satnam Roath, who claimed he was not at the scene and provided an alibi, was cleared by jurors on Friday.

Raja Roath, Shakti Roath and Jaswant Roath were cleared yesterday after the jury considered their verdicts for six hours.

During the trial the jury heard how violence flared in Clovelly Road.

Jurors heard two people went to hospital, one of them Gurdev Pottiwal suffering from a broken nose, a black eye and bruising over his head and body.

Raja Roath, 25, Shakti Roath, 28, and Satnam Roath, also 28, all of Bitterne Road East, Southampton, and Jaswant Roath, 30, of Bassett Avenue, Southampton, had always denied affray, claiming the Pottiwal family had been the aggressors.