A ROYAL Air Force Gulf War hero who climbed into a female officer's bed after a champagne party has been cleared of a charge of indecently assaulting her as she slept.

Flight Lieutenant Stuart Hague, a helicopter pilot at RAF Odiham, walked free from a court martial despite admitting he had taken things "a step too far" by getting into bed with the woman that night.

The 31-year-old Iraq veteran was accused of clambering through a window into the servicewoman's room and sexually assaulting her after a night of drinking in the officer's mess.

Flt Lt Hague, who has served with 18 Squadron and joined the RAF in 1996, always denied the charge that relates to an incident on April 2 last year.

The female officer, who had left the party early, told the five-day hearing held at Bulford Camp, in Wiltshire, that she awoke to find Flt Lt Hague with his hand down her pyjama bottoms.

After recoiling in horror when she realised it wasn't her boyfriend, she told Flt Lt Hague to get out of her room and reported the matter to RAF police.

When quizzed by investigators, Flt Lt Hague said he had drunk five glasses of champagne, two pints of bitter and two glasses of spirits with Coke. He said he could not remember being invited to the woman's room but thought he was welcome because she had flirted with him earlier.

Flt Lt Hague told the hearing: "I believe she made it 100 per cent clear what she wanted - she wanted me to join her in bed. When she woke, I was extremely shocked and surprised by her reaction. I believed I was expected.

"It's clear by her reaction I must have misinterpreted what I would describe as a wealth of signals in my direction in the bar to what she wanted that night.

"I felt embarrassed, angry with myself and disappointed."

Group Captain David Prowse, Flt Lt Hague's commanding officer in the Gulf War, told the hearing that the pilot had impressed with his courage while stationed on the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal.

He said: "It was combat operations that brought out his true mettle. We expected to lose one of five aircraft but, despite the risks, he volunteered his services for the first wave of attacks on the Al Faw peninsula.

"His courage never wavered. His performance until the end of the detachment remained first class. He was a pilot of the highest order."

On Wednesday, the court martial board of three female officers and two male officers took 55 minutes to clear Flt Lt Hague of indecent assault.

He will now resume frontline flying duties.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "The court martial process has concluded. The charges levied against the individual have not been proven. The officer concerned will return to normal duties."

First published: Friday, April 29, 2005