Care won't face assault probe

London - England's Danny Care was a relieved man on Thursday after being informed he will not face prosecution over an alleged sexual assault.

The 25-year-old Harlequins scrumhalf was arrested by West Yorkshire Police following an incident in Leeds in the early hours of Sunday, March 4.

Care was bailed pending further inquiries and Premiership champions Harlequins announced on Thursday that plans to prosecute Care for assault have been shelved.

A statement from the London club said: "The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and West Yorkshire Police have advised Danny Care's legal representatives that he will not be charged in relation to an alleged incident of sexual assault in Leeds on 3 March 2012."

Care had earlier accepted a police caution for being drunk and disorderly on that night after he was arrested for urinating outside the Leeds's Queens Hotel, but he denied the allegation of sexual assault.

In a statement issued Thursday, Care said: "I am relieved and happy that the investigation by the police and the CPS has come to this conclusion and that the process is now finished.

"I would like to thank all those who have supported me through this difficult time, in particular, my family and friends and all at Harlequins."

Thursday's announcement came just a month after Care was recalled to England duty by coach Stuart Lancaster after a series of alcohol-related incidents threatened his Test future.

The first of those was in the early hours of December 10 after Harlequins' European Cup defeat by Toulouse, when he was arrested and fined by police for being drunk and disorderly in Weybridge, Surrey, south-west of London.

Care was then banned from driving for 16 months and fined 3,100 after being arrested for drink driving in the early hours of New Year's Day.

That incident led to Care being excluded from England's Six Nations championship campaign by Lancaster.

Care later said he'd given up drinking to try to revive his international career back on track and Lancaster selected him for England's recent tour of South Africa, with Care scoring a try in the drawn third Test

Care, who guided Harlequins to a first Premiership title in May, missed last year's World Cup through injury.