Stoke City defender Ryan Shotton has been found not guilty of punching a man on a night out.

Shotton was found to have acted in defence of his friend when he knocked out Mark McDonald in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire.

The fight happened in the early hours of Sunday, June 24.

The single punch 28-year-old Shotton delivered knocked McDonald out, leaving him with a cut, magistrates sitting at North Staffordshire Justice Centre heard.

Shotton pleaded not guilty on the basis of self-defence following the fight with McDonald and his friend David Broomhall.