Melvin Riggs said he and his wife, Rose, can put behind them the nightmare of the last year.

Mr Riggs, 59, was accused of eight charges of indecent assault and one charge of gross indecency with a girl, a family friend.

The girl, now 21, alleged Mr Riggs abused her over a four-year period, ending in 2000, when he lived in Devizes.

After a three-day trial last week a jury at Swindon Crown Court returned not guilty verdicts on all nine charges after deliberating for 57 minutes.

Mr Riggs, a former builder who now lives in The Croft, Urchfont, said he contemplated suicide after he was charged with the offences and gave up his job at the Army camp at Upavon partly due to the stress of the case.

He was also prescribed an anti-depressant drug by his GP.

Mr Riggs was arrested in July last year at work at Upavon, where he was a car cleaner/maintenance worker, and taken to Melksham Police Station.

He had his finger prints and DNA taken and was interviewed. He declined a solicitor to represent him and was staggered to be told of the accusations brought by the complainant.

He said: “I told them I had never done anything like that in my life. It makes me sick to think about it. I think sexual abuse, especially on children, is just below murder.”

While he was being interviewed four police officers arrived at his house, where his wife was, to search for evidence. They took away his camera, computer and mobile phone.

He was released on bail and Mrs Riggs, 57, said: “When Melvin got home I think we just cuddled each other and cried. Melvin said ‘I didn’t do anything’ and I believed him. I have never had any second thoughts about my husband’s innocence.

“He’s got no criminal record. He has never had a parking fine or points on his driving licence. He’s so clean you could scrub the toilet with him.”

Mr Riggs was later charged and he said: “I was gobsmacked. It was like being in a car accident when the first few minutes you don’t know what is happening.”

He told his wife that if he was found guilty and given a prison sentence that she was to divorce him. He said: “My life would have been finished and Rose’s life would be a misery.”

He described the trial as frightening and said when the jury returned their not guilty verdicts he felt a huge weight had been lifted off him. His wife and their son, Owen, 34, broke down in tears in the court room.

Mr and Mrs Riggs, who have been married for 37 years, say they are not angry with the complainant but do not understand why she made the allegations.

Mrs Riggs, a former shop worker and who is disabled due to osteoarthritis, said: “We are not vindictive people. We still don’t know why she’s done it, which confuses us.”

Mr Riggs said: “I feel sorry for her, I don’t feel angry.”

The couple say they are enormously grateful for the support of their friends and neighbours.

Mr Riggs applied for 13 jobs during the last year but never got an interview. He thinks that was because he had to state on the application forms the impending court case.

The day after he was acquitted he stopped taking anti depressant tablets and is eager to find a job. He said: “The last year has been unreal and now it is time to get on with our lives.”