Jay Kaycappa – pictured – won his appeal against the assault charge after a court heard the former wife of Paul McCartney was too stressed to attend the hearing.

Father-of-three Mr Kaycappa, from Fareham, had been fined and sentenced to a 140-hour 12-month community order for grabbing the ex-wife of Sir Paul McCartney by her shoulder and taking her photograph in a subway in Brighton in 2006.

A three-day appeal against his sentence and conviction was due to start at Lewes Crown Court today, but an administrative hearing was told the Crown could not respond to the appeal because Ms Mills was refusing to give evidence.

Prosecutor Dale Sullivan said: 'The Crown ... cannot serve a summons because we don't know where she is. We believe she is on the east coast of America.'

Judge Richard Brown said that a document had been received from a GP saying Ms Mills was suffering from stress, and that because she would not attend the hearing, the appeal was successful.