An innocent man who suffered months of abuse after false claims he was a paedophile has died of a massive heart attack, his widow said yesterday.

The heartbroken wife of Bryan Davies blamed the girls who wrongly accused him of sexual touching for her husband's death - and vowed his funeral cortege will pass their homes to show their guilt.

Debbie Davies, 43, said her 63-year-old husband had fought in vain to clear his name and is convinced the abuse sparked his heart attack.

"The doctor told me my husband died of a massive heart attack," Mrs Davies said.

"As far as I am concerned those girls are responsible for what happened to Bryan."

The couple, who have no children of their own, suffered vandalism and threats after the two young girls falsely accused him of indecently touching them in the summer.

But after police investigated, their story was dismissed by officers.

The couple said the girls made up the story after they refused to allow a "sleep over" at their house or let them walk their dog.

Police in Accrington, Lancs, even went as far as handing out leaflets to locals in the neighbourhood to state officially the allegations were "false and without any foundation whatsoever". But a brick through the window, slashed car tyres and constant shouts of "Paedo" and "Pervert" every time they left the house increased the stress, Mrs Davies said.