Prosecutors dropped all charges yesterday against two people who between them faced allegations that included assaulting, neglecting and threatening children.

A Southampton woman, 36, was charged in Magistrates’ Court with neglecting two children, as well as assaulting and chasing one with a knife.

A 34-year-old man, from Pembroke, was charged with assaulting the children and threatening to injure one.

Both denied the offences, which it was alleged occurred between 2016 and 2024, when they appeared in court in May.

Neither the adults nor the children can be identified for legal reasons.

The case was given priority in Magistrates’ Court, but had been adjourned several times before the Crown entered a nolle prosequi — a request for an indefinite adjournment.

Michael Scott, the man’s lawyer, was pleased with the decision, which he said allowed the accused to “return to their normal lives”.

Adjournments through a nolle prosequi can be upheld for a year before a case is dismissed.

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