A POSTMASTER and his brother have been cleared of killing an apparently irate customer.

Edward Brown, 51, and Alan Brown, 63, were both found not guilty of culpable homicide following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

John McGuire was said to have gone into the Cardonald Post Office in Glasgow in March last year to complain about the cost of posting a parcel.

Jurors heard of fears the 56 year-old may stab Edward Brown – but it emerged he had been holding a Snickers chocolate bar.

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Mr McGuire – who weighed almost 20-stone - later died of asphyxia.

Prosecutors claimed the brothers held Mr McGuire on the ground and stamped on his body.

It is also alleged they pressed his neck and knelt on his back restricting his breathing.

But, the pair strongly denied causing Mr McGuire's death.

Edward Brown insisted he could be have been confronted by a possible “madman” that day – and had feared for his life.

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The postmaster said he showed relatives CCTV of the incident to prove him and his brother were innocent

He told jurors: “I needed my family to know what happened and that I was not responsible.

“They have come to an agreement that it (the trial) should not be happening.”

Relatives of the men sobbed loudly following the verdicts.

The family meantime of Mr McGuire stormed out the packed courtroom.

Edward Brown, of Renfrew, Renfrewshire, said he knew Mr McGuire as a customer who came in once a month.

He recalled Mr McGuire being “very agitated” when he turned up on March 25 last year.

The postmaster said: “He felt he had paid too much for a postal item. He was sole something he did not want.

“He believed a member of staff had an attitude towards him.”

The dad said he was called a “scum dwarf”, but was not bothered by the remark.

Mr McGuire then returned to the shop and apparently “swung a punch” at the postmaster.

Edward Brown said he was grabbed before both men ended up on the ground.

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Alan Brown then came in to help his brother. He happened to be visiting the post office to drop something off for his sibling.

Edward Brown said he was “not moving” away from Mr McGuire until police arrived.

His QC Thomas Ross asked: “What was your concern?”

He replied: “That there was a madman – if he got up, God knows what he would have done.”

He felt there was “no position to negotiate” with Mr McGuire.

The accused then added: “I felt my life was threatened.”

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The court heard claims Edward Brown stated at one point: “You are not going to stab me with that.”

But, any item Mr McGuire may have been clutching turned out to be a Snickers.

Edward Brown added: “I am not happy with the outcome (the death), but there was nothing intentional.”

Alan Brown, of the city's Craigton, remembered the post office being “quite chaotic” and the atmosphere “terrifying”.

He insisted he was only defending his brother.

Asked had he gone “way too far”, he replied: “Absolutely not.”