A group of students cleared of raping a woman at a college ball have lashed out at the police investigation after the case against them collapsed.

The four men - James Martin, 20, Thady Duff, 22, Leo Mahon, 22, and Patrick Foster, 22 - all denied the charges alleged to have been committed against the same woman at the end-of-year ball at the prestigious Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, in May 2014.

However the men were not charged for 13 months, impacting on their studies and personal lives, according to relatives.

Prosecutors at Gloucester Crown Court offered no evidence against the men on Monday, following issues over the late disclosure of material to the defence.

Amateur jockey Mr Martin, who faced one charge of rape, said that the police investigation had been “devastating".

He told the Daily Mail: “If they had done their job properly it would have been over a long time ago and I would have years of my life back.”

He added that the men had been treated as "guilty until proven innocent” by officers who acted in a way to “better themselves” before the case came to court.

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Devastating: The men said the case against them affected their studies and personal lives (SWNS)

Mr Martin’s barrister, Edward Henry, said the probe had been “one long exercise in bias” adding that lawyers were now looking into recovering all legal costs.

The woman at the centre of the claims, who cannot be named, made the allegation of rape after footage of the group having sex was shared over Snapchat.

Mr Martin said having the case loom over him had affected his perception of people and ability to trust them.

Turning his attention to the police, he added: "It just seems like something out of the 80s. You don’t expect to see the police do this to better themselves.”

His mother, Julia, said: "I have seen my son change. The day we heard the case was closed, I got my son back.”

While the case was ongoing the men were reportedly barred from collecting their degrees from the college, rated the Oxbridge of agricultural studies.

Top pic: SWNS