ANGRY relatives of three girls left Worcester Crown Court shouting threats after a Redditch pensioner was cleared of six sex assaults.

Patrick Oprey, aged 68, admitted to police that he hugged children but denied any improper behaviour.

He claimed that two girls aged 11 and another aged eight had invented allegations against him.

A jury took just an hour to clear Mr Oprey, of Throckmorton Road, Greenlands, of indecent assaults between June 1999 and March last year.

The prosecution had alleged that the married OAP fondled girls over their clothing and kissed one of them on the lips.

He was "a grandfather figure" who was well liked by children

But one schoolgirl wrote a letter of complaint to a teacher and another took three years before making allegations.

Mr Oprey told police he couldn't think of any reason why the girls should make up stories about him.

He brushed off kissing as an innocent action, like an adult kissing a favourite niece.

The jury was told by Judge Michael Mott that because Mr Oprey was a man with no previous convictions they could take his character into account when reaching their verdicts.