A HIGH-FLYING bank worker has told how he was left wanting to take his own life after bungling cops took 70 weeks to clear him after a false rape allegation was made by his bitter ex-girlfriend.

Paul Faulkner, from Hertfordshire, had everything going for him with a well-paying job earning more than £100,000 a year at a central London bank when his life was turned upside down.

8 Paul Faulkner, 46, met the woman in May 2015. They struck up a serious relationship but he ended up having to turn detective when she made a series of false allegations against him. He is pictured here in his home with the evidence he has compiled Credit: BY DAVID NEW FOR THE SUN

His house was raided by four police officers and he was arrested on suspicion of assault, actual bodily harm, sexual assault, coercive control and threats to kill after his bitter ex made a string of false claims.

Reliving the nightmare he said: “I thought about taking my life, just because it felt easier than coping with it all.

“I had given the police all the evidence, I was not guilty and yet I was treated like a violent criminal who had already been convicted.

“No one was listening. I remember one evening just crying and praying that she’d stab me with a knife in the street. Just so the police would listen to me. I was that desperate.”

8 Mr Faulkner was bombarded with threats when he tried to leave the woman Credit: BY DAVID NEW FOR THE SUN

The 46-year-old classic car hobbyist met the woman who would make his life hell on Match.com in May 2015.

They quickly struck up a serious relationship, however after five weeks Mr Faulkner told her it would be best to end their romance.

Speaking to The Sun Online, Mr Faulkner said: "She was physically abusive and I didn't feel safe. I tried to get out and she tried everything to get me to stay."

Throughout this period, Mr Faulkner was attacked by her with a spanner, had a car boot slammed on his back while fetching bags out of her car and even bitten.

After leaving the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, she began making a series of threats.

In a series of troubling emails and texts she even demanded thousands of pounds.

One text read: "Watch out for the police. Watch out for Milner [the name of his car]. Give me my money."

8 The classic car hobbyist is pictured with Milner, his beloved classic Beetle. The woman made threats against his car, telling him 'Watch out for Milner' before making the allegations Credit: BY DAVID NEW FOR THE SUN

Another, sent shortly afterwards, said: "I loved something that didn't exist. Now I will get my revenge. I am going to destroy ypu [sic] as you have destroyed me."

Later she wrote: "I have taken a week off. I will during that time visit the police and tell them what you have done to me. My final gift to you."

She added: "You will never get another job again... you will be well and truly f******."

8 In texts sent before she went to the police, the woman promises to get 'revenge' and promises to 'destroy' him Credit: THE SUN

8 The woman made a series of threats before making the allegations against him. These texts were shown to police three days after he was first arrested, however it took them 70 weeks to clear him Credit: THE SUN

8 Mr Faulkner is told he has two weeks to pay the woman £9,500 in a dispute they were having over his car. Cops claimed to Mr Faulkner that these texts show a civil dispute, and not Blackmail. They were sent before she went to the police, falsely accusing him of rape and other offences Credit: THE SUN

8 She tells him 'You will never get another job again' in texts sent to him before she went to the police Credit: THE SUN

Cops were sent the texts by Mr Faulkner and told about her demands for cash and various threats just three days after his arrest.

He also told officers about suicide attempts she would make when he tried to leave her.

A later allegation of rape was made by the woman against him on the same day Mr Faulkner launched a counter law suit regarding a money dispute between the pair.

During this period, a woman claiming to be a friend of his ex called up Mr Faulkner's boss wrongly claiming he was soon to face trial over a rape allegation.

His work agency stood by him, and his boss at a central London private bank extended his work contract.

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Police and prosecutors in crisis: 600 sex offence cases being reviewed after innocent suspects were put through hell POLICE and prosecutors are reviewing hundreds of rape cases after admitting a "catalogue of errors" over their failure to disclose key evidence in the recent Liam Allan trial. Authorities have said they had apologised to the 22-year-old student after a failure to disclose vital text messages that could have cleared his name sooner after he was wrongly accused of rape. Mr Allan, from Penge in South East London, was charged with six counts of rape and six counts of sexual assault but his trial collapsed in December after police were ordered to hand over phone records. An officer is believed to have dismissed 57,000 text messages as irrelevant and "very personal" as a review found the problems with disclosure were caused by "a combination of error, lack of challenge, and lack of knowledge". Cops and the CPS have now admitted a string of blunders in relation to his case and have confirmed they are reviewing more than 600 other sex offence cases in London and thousands nationally. 120 officers are assisting with the Met Police review. Asked whether people may have been wrongly convicted, a prosecuter said: "We don't know what we don't know. "If anyone feels they've been wrongly convicted, they should appeal in the proper way."

However HR workers at the firm then stepped in, claiming he could be a "reputational risk".

Eventually he lost the job and failed to find other work for another seven months.

As time went on, Mr Faulkner began recording his conversations with police officers.

In one conversation he tells an officer that he'd been on bail and under investigation for more than a year they respond saying: "Oh God".

8 The private bank worker has told how he was left feeling suicidal by the ordeal Credit: BY DAVID NEW FOR THE SUN

He was finally served with a no further action order on December 21 2017.

The woman has since asked for a case review - further extending Mr Faulkner's torment.

But he feels that the length of the investigation exposes how genuine victims of rape could also have their torment extended through a lack of action by cops.

He said: "The reason that my story is so scary is: what if I did it? What if I am guilty? Then a victim has had to wait 70 weeks for justice.

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"The public have to wait 70 weeks to have a violent rapist locked away.

"So it's a sad state of affairs either way."

Hertfordshire Constabulary said in a statement: “Mr Faulkner has made an official complaint to Hertfordshire Constabulary and while this is being reviewed it would be inappropriate to comment any further.”

Legal limbo: How did cops let this happen? Being on pre-charge bail, also known as police bail, means that officers are continuing their investigation into what a suspect is accused of without having yet decided if they will seek prosecution. In April last year a 28-day limit came into effect in England and Wales, meaning that investigations are dropped if charges are not brought against suspets within that timeframe. There is a three-month extension available to cops in more extreme cases. This law came into effect after Mr Faulkner was arrested, when there was no legal limit on how long a suspect could be under pre-charge bail. Speaking when the new law was announced, Home Secretary Amber Rudd said: “Pre-charge bail is a useful and necessary tool, but in many cases it is being imposed on people for many months, or even years, without any judicial oversight – and that cannot be right. “These important reforms will mean fewer people are placed on bail and for shorter periods. “They will bring about much-needed safeguards – public accountability and independent scrutiny – while ensuring the police can continue to do their vital work.”

If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans on (free) 116123 or 020 7734 2800.