An au pair accused of biting and lashing a teenage boy with a belt today said he wanted to get out of England as soon as possible after the case against him collapsed.

But Zsolt Vamos - who was also accused of assaulting a three-year-old child - will have to wait several days to discover whether he faces another trial following yesterday's legal mix-up.

The case came to an abrupt end at Bradford Crown Court when Judge Roger Scott quashed five common assault charges, ruling they should not have appeared on the indictment.

He discharged the jury from returning any verdicts on these charges and also directed them to return not guilty verdicts in relation to allegations of abandoning the family's five children and also intimidating a witness.

Prosecutor Simon Kealey said the case would now be referred to the chief crown prosecutor for North Yorkshire, who would decide if a second trial would go ahead.

After walking out of court, Vamos said: "I wanted the court case to go ahead so that I could clear my name, not only for me but for the other au pairs who work in this country and elsewhere. I have heard lots of stories about them being treated very badly and then thrown away like rubbish."

Vamos, of Capel Road, Rusper, Sussex, had pleaded not guilty to all charges and told police he had always been patient and kind with the youngsters.

Vamos said : "I am not happy at all because I wanted the trial to go ahead so I could clear my name.

"I still cannot go back to Hungary. I want them to make a firm decision on what is happening. I have a ticket to fly back to Hungary on July 18 and I want to be able to use it.

"It has been a terrible time for me here and I just want to leave this country as soon as possible."

The allegations came to light after Vamos and a female au pair packed their bags and left the unnamed family's home last September.

The eldest child, a 13-year-old boy, told police he had been bitten on the shoulder, slapped around the head and hit up to six times with a leather belt during Vamos's nine-day stay at his home in the Bradford area.

He also claimed Vamos banged his three-year-old brother's head against the side of a bed and threw him down hard onto a mattress.

Vamos was assisted by an interpreter throughout the trial and Judge Scott told him: "I hope you understand what has been going on. It seems as if the matters of assaulting the children can still be tried by the magistrates court. The head of the prosecution department in North Yorkshire is going to decide in the next few days as to whether you should be tried in the magistrates court for these five matters of assault on the children."