I wish he had hit me in the face

A RETIRED lecturer was driven to despair by false claims he was a paedophile – thought up and spread by Ed Glenwright.

Retired lecturer Jon Haydon, 66, lived in fear of being attacked by people who believed the sick allegations that were made against him.

He was too scared to leave his house and turned to drink to cope after being targeted in a vicious smear campaign.

Jon is one of two victims who will each receive £1000 in compensation from their tormentor.

He said: “It is difficult to put into words how these crimes have affected me.

“It would be easier if I had been punched in the face, but all the harm is inside.

“I don’t think anyone can understand the effects this can have on people unless they have experienced something similar

TORMENTED Jon Haydon themselves. I recall feeling physically sick reading one of the emails describing how I supposedly sexually abused the daughter of one of my students.

“These crimes have affected me extremely negatively in many ways, emotionally and mentally, and they have impacted on my ability to go about my everyday life.”

Jon lived in fear of being attacked, of his property being damaged and of people believing the sick allegations against him.

At one point, he and his wife considered moving from Moffat because he was too frightened to leave his house, and he turned to alcohol to help him cope.

Jon said: “I can’t think of anything worse se to be accused d of. I can only hope that I will ill get over all this his with the passage age of time.”