AN angry judge has condemned the 'scandalous waste of money' spent on prosecuting two Cheltenham Gold Cup racegoers from Leeds who got involved in a pub skirmish in Winchcombe.

Part of the expense of the trial was setting up a video link to Australia so that a witness who now lives there could give evidence to the Gloucester crown court jury.

The 75-minute link, costing more than £300, proved to be worthless when it was realised that the witness in Australia had not been sent a copy of his original police statement and therefore could not be cross examined about it.

His evidence - being transmitted from the other side of the world at a cost of £3 a minute - was also delayed when no-one could find a Bible in his Australian venue so he could take the oath.

Eventually the trial of the two men on affray charges collapsed when the prosecution accepted a guilty plea to a lesser offence from one of them and the other agreed to be bound over to keep the peace.

Judge Michael Harington ripped into the prosecution, describing the whole day as a "scandalous waste of public money" and telling the Crown Prosecution Service they would need to make a case explaining why they should not have to pay the costs of the entire case.

At the start of the case David Gardner, 39, of Church Rd, Leeds and Philip Lister, 37, of Old Farm Close, Moor Grange, had denied affray at the White Hart Inn on March 13 last year.

The prosecution claimed they were involved in an assault on restaurant manager Steven Gibson who, since the incident, has moved to Australia.

The incident was on the first day of last year's National Hunt Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse when the two men had gone to the pub after the day's racing.

The trial ended abruptly with Mr Gardner escaping any conviction after the Crown offered no evidence. Judge Harington ordered him to be bound over to keep the peace for 18 months in the sum of £400.

Mr Lister then admitted a lesser charge of using threatening words or behaviour and was fined £600 and banned from going to the White Hart Inn for a year.

Judge Harington decided not to order the Crown to pay full costs but did order that defendants' costs be assessed.