A British teacher was yesterday cleared of forcibly removing a Muslim pupil's headscarf and making offensive comments about her religion. Hazel Dick, head of science at Bretton Woods Community School in Peterborough, central England, had been charged with religiously aggravated assault on Seleena Sabeel, 15. The teenager alleged she suffered a cut neck in March last year when Dick forcibly took the Islamic headscarf, or hijab, from her head. She also claimed that the teacher called Islam a "joke." But in a unanimous verdict, a jury of seven women and five men at Peterborough Crown Court cleared the 43-year-old teacher. In a statement read outside the court, Dick's brother, Kenny Vaughan, said the arrest and subsequent trial had been a "traumatic and demanding time" for his sister, her family and the school, but she hoped to return to teaching as soon as possible. Vaughan said the family had received messages of support from people of all faiths, including Muslims, adding: "My sister is a religious woman who has always treated other religions with respect." John Gribble, headteacher at Bretton Woods, said Dick "has a distinguished and unblemished record of service at the school and enjoys the trust and admiration of her colleagues and governors. "We have an esteemed colleague returned to us liberated of a huge burden." Gribble said Seleena would be allowed to continue at school while an internal investigation was carried out into her assault claims. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Cathedral church in Peterbourough, ENGLAND.