A TRIAL against a man who was accused of putting cocaine in a woman’s drink at a nightclub in Banbury has been dismissed.

Charlie Hackett, 26, of Sutton Coldfield, near Birmingham, was charged with overseeing a noxious substance with intent to injure or annoy.

He was accused of adding powder cocaine to Millie Stayton’s drink at the Zinc nightclub in High Street, Banbury on December 11, 2021.

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Mr Hackett admitted to possession of cocaine but has denied the allegation.

A trial started at Oxford Crown Court on Monday (March 4) but after the prosecution’s case was finished, the trial was dismissed.

This was due to the defence making an application for ‘no case to answer’  which can made when they believe the prosecution’s case is ‘weak due to a lack of evidence to prove the offence or insufficient evidence to support a conviction’.

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Judge Michael Gledhill accepted the application and the trial was officially dismissed.

During the prosecution’s case, it was heard that the jury would not be shown any CCTV evidence as the club was ‘too dark’ and the lights were ‘strobed and flashing’.

It was also heard that the glass containing the alleged cocaine had been cleaned by bar staff and could not, therefore, be examined.

The historic 160-year-old charge was placed on the statute book two-and-a-half decades into the reign of Queen Victoria.