Carer accused of abuse speaks of his '˜two years of hell' after a court cleared him of all charges

Raymond Gahagan, 23, was suspended from his role at Sherwood Lodge Care Home, on Sherwood Way, Fulwood, when the allegations first came to light in December 2013.

He says he was suspended immediately but was only able to give his version of events 15 months later in a disciplinary hearing. Gahagan, of Cedar Road, Ribbleton, Preston, had denied ill treating pensioner Sheila Nichols in 2013.

One agency worker had claimed he scrubbed the pensioner’s face roughly with a flannel, manhandled her into a wheelchair and brushed her hair with a nail brush.

But a jury at Preston’s Sessions House Court took two hours to find him not guilty.

Today he said: “My name has been cleared and I want people to know. I nearly cried with relief in the dock.

“I have lived this for 27 months and now I’ve finally got closure. I have had messages sent to me on Facebook saying horrendous stuff, calling me a granny basher, and worse. I never want to work in care again – I’ve lost the heart for it.”

He said he now intended to seek full time employment now the trial was over.