THREE men charged with killing a toddler who was hit by a speedboat have been cleared.

Paul Gallagher, of Repton Road, Orpington, died from massive head injuries in August 2002.

The 19ft-long speedboat mounted the beach at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas and hit him while he slept.

After a long battle - the subject of News Shopper's Justice For Paul campaign - the case had gone to trial at the Supreme Court in the Bahamian capital Nassau.

The jury of six women and three men cleared the boat's driver, 30-year-old James Bain, and its owners Clifford Nottage, 54, and Evangeless Williamson, 66, of manslaughter by negligence after judge Elliot Lockhart ruled there was no case to answer.

  • Video: family's reaction to verdict - click here

Two-year-old Paul's parents reacted angrily to the verdict both inside and outside the courtroom.

The youngster's mother, Andrea Gallagher, broke down in tears at the back of the court.

Her husband, Paul, 43, stood up and shouted at Bain: "Why don't you tell the truth?".

Outside court Mr Gallagher had to be held back from approaching the three men by his wife's brother John McGuckion.

Both the toddler's father and uncle then started shouting at the boat's driver and its owners as they were moved away by court officials.

A June 2003 inquest in the Bahamas recorded a verdict of accidental death, but the Bromley coroner later recorded an open verdict at a second inquest the following year.

The criminal trial came about after Bromley coroner Dr Roy Palmer said there were "real doubts" over the incident, and subsequent investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

The court heard that Bain was pulling a banana boat with the 200-horsepower speedboat when it was hit by a wave, knocking several people into the water.

As Bain, who did not have a master's licence, went to help them, leaving the engine running, his foot became tangled in a rope and the boat approached the beach at full throttle, scattering bathers.