CHARGES have been dropped against four family members accused of keeping a woman as a slave at a house.

The relatives walked free from Teesside Crown Court on Monday after formal not guilty verdicts were entered by a judge.

The development came after their accuser was interviewed for a second time and gave a "wholly inconsistent account".

Prosecutor Richard Bennett said it also appeared that she had inflicted injuries - scratches and a burn - herself.

Javid Iqbal, 43, Rabia Mobin, 27, and Sakina Bibi, 69, were cleared of all the charges by Judge Howard Crowson.

In December, Tariq Siddique, 48, had two slavery or servitude charges by using force and threat of force dropped, and now also one of common assault.

The others faced two counts of slavery or servitude and common assault, while the women also one of actual bodily harm.

Judge Crowson told the four: "I have entered not guilty verdicts against you all. You are now free to go."

Mr Bennett said the Crown was confident there had been no witness interference, and there was no evidence.

"The prosecution had a public duty to investigate such matters [the original allegation]," he told the judge.

"This is a case where there was no supporting evidence at all to her account. There were no other witnesses.

"We are satisfied that this is a case where the complainant has not been 'got at'.

"There is no evidence at all of any communication between and of the defendants and the complainant."

A costs order may be awarded in favour of Mr Siddique, Ms Mobin and Ms Bibi, all from Osborne Road, and Mr Iqbal, of Yarm Road, both Stockton, for their travelling expenses to a number of court hearings.

It is believed they were the first people in the North-East to be charged under new anti-slavery laws which came into effect in 2010.

The Crown Prosecution Service said: “The charges were brought after a woman made a statement to police claiming to have been held captive by the group over a ten-month period.

“Our initial charging decision was made based on all of the evidence available at that time but, in line with the Code for Crown Prosecutors, the evidence in this case has been subject to continuous review.

“During a recent review of the case, the victim provided a further statement and it swiftly became apparent that there were significant differences between that statement and the initial account provided."

"As a result of this, the evidence in the case has been significantly undermined and we have concluded there is no longer a realistic prospect of a conviction. The case against the four defendants has now been discontinued.”