A woman who was found dead in the Yorkshire holiday chalet of a man she was on a first date with was not killed by his actions, a jury has decided.

Christopher Downes, 53, from Hatfield in Doncaster, has been cleared of the manslaughter of Kim Harrop at the chalet at Humberston Fitties, near Grimsby, in 2018.

He had denied being responsible for administering a large quantity of a powerful painkiller to the 55-year-old from Grantham, whom he had met online, and a jury at Sheffield Crown Court today found him not guilty.

Investigating officer Roger Fell of Humberside Police said:“Kim was a mother and much-loved daughter, her untimely death has caused untold distress to her family.

"The verdict of the jury in finding Downes not guilty is one we accept. I hope, at least the trial has given Kim’s family some of the answers they have been searching for in the years since her death.”

It had been alleged that Downes had spiked Kim’s vape fluid or drink with painkillers prescribed to his late partner, who had died from cancer. They had met on a dating site three weeks before the incident.

Kim Harrop death: Man found not guilty of killing his date at Yorkshire chalet by spiking her vape fluid