A trainee doctor wept with relief after he was cleared today of trying to kiss a woman patient and carrying out an unnecessary examination of her breasts.

Dr Aju Varghese told the jury at Bradford Crown Court he carried out an abdominal examination of the patient with her consent.

He strongly denied examining her breasts, hugging her or trying to kiss her.

This afternoon the jury found 33-year-old Varghese not guilty of two allegations of sexual assault in his consulting room at a surgery in Bingley.

Varghese, who was wearing a smart suit and tie, stood in the dock looking massively relieved.

He fought back tears as Judge Jonathan Rose told him: “Don’t sit down, Dr Varghese. You are discharged. You can leave the dock.”

Outside the courtroom, Varghese hugged his partner and embraced a male friend, who told him: “You are out of the fire.”

Judge Rose awarded Varghese a defendant’s cost order to reimburse him for the expense of fighting his case.

During the trial, the patient, a professional woman in her 20s, said she went to the doctor with stomach pains, but after the abdominal examination he examined her breasts.

She said she felt awkward and uncomfortable and felt like the reasons he was looking at them were not professional.

She claimed Varghese, of Baden Street, Harrogate, pulled her towards him, hugged her tightly and tried to kiss her.

Varghese told the jury he became emotional when the woman asked him if he had children because he and his partner were having problems conceiving and were receiving advice on IVF treatment.

He denied asking the woman to strip off, examining her breasts, or asking her about having breast enlargements.

He told the jury he never said or did anything inappropriate.