Footballer rape case dropped

A rape charge against a Premiership footballer and another man were dropped yesterday after new scientific evidence undermined the case.

Jody Morris, the Leeds United midfielder, had appeared in court charged with raping a 20-year-old woman near Leeds in October last year. He was accused,with his friend Kristofer Dickie, the son of a senior police officer, of attacking the woman in a layby on the A58 between Leeds and Wetherby.

The Crown Prosecution Service said new forensic science evidence meant there was "no realistic prospect of obtaining a conviction".

The forensic science evidence contradicted earlier evidence obtained from the alleged crime scene, the CPS said.