A HAMPSHIRE hotelier cried tears of relief as jurors found her not guilty of trying to poison her head chef.

Lilian Robson, 66, walked free from Southampton Crown Court after being accused of trying to poison David Belfield for ending a relationship with her daughter Julie.

Throwing her arms around her husband Gary, Mrs Robson said: "I am delighted."

Friends and family of Mrs Robson gasped with relief when Judge David Griffiths ordered Mrs Robson to be discharged and awarded her costs.

Speaking outside the courtroom, Mrs Robson's barrister Sarah Jones said: "It has been a horrendous time and all she would like to do now is go home."

The jury of nine women and three men took an hour-and-a-half to reach their unanimous verdict.

In the end they believed that the mother-of-two, who has run The Ashburn Hotel, Fordingbridge, for 19 years, was innocent.