A STOURBRIDGE man was hugged by delighted family members after he was cleared by a jury of killing his "difficult" mother during a row over the roast potatoes for their Christmas dinner.

A six-man six-woman panel at Wolverhampton Crown Court considered the evidence for just 93 minutes before reaching a unanimous verdict that Mark Jennens was not guilty of manslaughter.

The 40-year-old from Amblecote said: "It was not the thought of prison that bothered me. It was the stigma of being the guy who killed his own mom."

The prosecution had alleged Jennens "lost it" during the argument after telling his mother Hazel: "That is the last time you are going to talk to me like that."

Rachel Brand QC, prosecuting, claimed Jennens either pushed or threw his mother to the floor as he tried to frog march her out of their home in Sorrel Walk.

Mrs Jennens was a frail woman who suffered from lung cancer, pulmonary disease and a weakening of the bones and she died just under a month later after fracturing her hip.

Mr Jennens told police after his arrest he had picked up his mother but she had slipped through his hands with the prosecution accepting it had never been his intention to kill her or cause any serious harm.

After today's verdict - an overjoyed Mr Jennens said: "It just goes to show how much the criminal justice system leaves out. At no time was it said my mother had been given just six months to live."

He went on: "I cannot fault social services, To be perfectly honest their hands are tied. If the person who needs care refuses to participate you are just left to drift.

"I just feel there needs to be more balance with social services They need to strike a balance between the interests of the people providing care and the people who need it."

Mr Jennens, who was a full time carer for his 78-year-old mother, had told police she was driving him mad and he struggled to cope.

He told officers that in a knee jerk reaction, after she commented about the potatoes, he had picked her up in a panic to get her out of the house and then next minute she was on the floor.

Mr Jennens, who in the past had suffered a nervous breakdown and was taking anti-depressants, said his actions were a "momentary surge of anger".

Sharon Bailey, defending, had maintained the injury to Mrs Jennens had not been the major cause of her death and there had been problems while she was at hospital.

After the case Mr Jennens' sister Dawn Ellis said the family were overjoyed with the not guilty verdict.

She said: "Mark always had our full support from day one.

"Now we can get on with the rest of our lives. It was never in the interests of justice for this case to have been brought against Mark in the first place.

"It has only caused hurt and upset. We could not even have a funeral for our mother until this year because of the things that have been done."

"There is no doubting the fact that our mother would never have wanted this to happen to Mark."

Mrs Jennens, the court was told, died in January 2016 after being hospitalised for her broken hip and the cause of death was ruled as respiratory failure due to bronchopneumonia.