HUGH GRANT - HUGH GRANT AVOIDS 'BEAN ASSAULT' CHARGE

Hugh Grant will not be charged over allegations that he threw a container of baked beans over a photographer, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has confirmed.

The Four Weddings and a Funeral star will also not be charged over claims that he kicked the same photographer during an incident which the paparazzo alleged took place outside Mr Grant's west London home in April.

Photographer Ian Whittaker had told police that he was attacked by Mr Grant after trying to take pictures of the actor's former girlfriend and neighbour Liz Hurley.

Mr Grant, 46, was arrested over the April 24th debacle and subsequently bailed until May.

But a CPS spokeswoman has now revealed that police had "insufficient evidence" to charge the star over claims that he kicked Mr Whittaker.

"We have advised the police that there is insufficient evidence to charge Hugh Grant with any offence in relation to an allegation that he kicked a photographer," said the spokeswoman.

She explained that the decision not to prosecute Mr Grant over the kicking claim was taken "because there were clear discrepancies between the accounts of independent witnesses and those of the photographers involved".

The prosecution service also decided that it would "not be in the public interest" to prosecute the actor over the second allegation relating to a take-away food container, the CPS spokeswoman added.

She stressed that the "minimal nature of the alleged assault, the lack of premeditation on the part of Mr Grant and the overall circumstances of the incident" had informed the CPS' decision.