The former owner of an animal sanctuary, who was wrongly accused of cruelty, has hit out at the RSPCA and police, for putting him through "seven years of hell".

Stuart Ford, 58, who founded the North Devon based, Society for the Protection and Re-homing of Animals (SPRA), received death threats and was forced to leave his home, after he was prosecuted for allegedly mistreating dogs in his care.

But when the case came to court he was cleared of all charges and awarded costs by a judge who described him as being of “good character”.

Now a misconduct investigation into the police's handling of the case, has concluded that officers relied too heavily upon the guidance of the RSPCA - which was recently warned by MPs to stop pursuing its own private prosecutions.

Mr Ford’s ordeal began in 2012 when and RSPCA inspector and a Devon and Cornwall police officer raided his home to investigate a complaint of animal cruelty.

It was subsequently determined that the warrant they had used to search Mr Ford’s property had been obtained unlawfully.

An independent vet, who accompanied the officers on the raid concluded none of the animals showed any sign of suffering and none were removed.