Gordon Rozario is celebrating with family and friends after being cleared of a list of child sexual abuse charges.

Mr Rozario, his wife Christine, friends and supporters claim the not guilty verdicts are a victory for common sense.

Mr Rozario said: "I'm feeling greatly relieved.
"It's been over 18 months of hell waiting for things to happen and this last week and a half has been horrendous.
"The stress caused not only to me but to my wife has been awful."

Mr Rozario had been the managing director of his own child support company employing some 300 people when the allegations first came to light 18 months ago. He had worked in the childcare industry for around 30 years, and he and his wife of 20 years were regular foster carers.

He said: "As a result of the allegations I had to give up my job, give up my shares, and most importantly give up the foster children we had at the time living with us.
"I've spent a lot of years qualifying and training in childcare and at 52 to start a new career is going to be a bit of a shock.
"I'm angry that these prosecutions ever came to court. To an extent I can sympathise or understand why kids would make these false allegations but I'm angry at the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.
"They should have been more vigilant about what they bring to court and what they shouldn't."

One of the complainants, now a 37-year-old man but aged 12 at the time, who claimed he had been abused said he was "devastated" by the not guilty verdicts in all three of the allegations he had made.

He said: "I'm devastated but I've got to move on. It has brought an end to that part of my life."

The man, now married with two children, had denied throughout the case the defence's claim that he was a "professional compensation claimer".