AN APPLEBY guesthouse owner says he suffered eight months of hell after a woman falsely claimed he had assaulted her because her mother-in-law was black.

Patrick Flitcroft, 68, who has run the Old Hall Farmhouse bed and breakfast in Bongate for five years, was found not guilty at Carlisle Crown Court of a charge of racially aggravated common assault, which alleged that an assault on Mrs Victoria Richardson was "wholly or partly motivated by hostility towards members of a particular racial group".

After the unanimous verdict, the judge, Recorder David Essex, took the unusual step of sympathising with Mr Flitcroft.

"I have no doubt at all that the jury's verdict is correct," he told him. "You leave this court without a stain on your character."

And, while making it clear he had no criticism of the police or Crown Prosecution Service, which brought the case, he continued: "The allegation was of a truly despicable crime - but I have no doubt it was not true.

"Allegations like this can be easily made, but they do great harm to the people accused of such behaviour."

Mr Flitcroft said the time since Mrs Richardson made her allegation in May had been "horrendous".

"It was a ludicrous allegation but it has given us eight months of hell."

He said he was now looking forward to welcoming more guests and "having a houseful" in the new tourist season.

"You should see our visitors' book - we have never had a bad word said about us before," he said.

During the trial Mrs Richardson claimed Mr Flitcroft grabbed her by the arm after saying that people like her mother-in-law, who was staying at the guesthouse with her, were "niggers" who should be "shipped".

Mr flitcroft said that Mrs Richardson made up her allegations after he complained that her family - who had stayed with him before - had failed to respect the house rules, which he had carefully explained to them as soon as they arrived.

They had left their car in an area reserved for emergency vehicles and had left a security door wide open "so anyone could just walk in", he said.

He said he could not have dragged Mrs Richardson upstairs, as she claimed, because at the time he was suffering from severe heart problems which resulted in a double heart bypass operation just a fortnight later.

"I couldn't even walk upstairs without stopping for breath," he said. "It was something I did as little as possible."

Among the evidence presented on his behalf were statements from two former ethnic minority guests.

Lyse Hunger, an African married to a German, said Mr Flitcroft "behaved correctly and respectfully with us" and Miza Burke, a South Korean, said he was "courteous and helpful".