The former pop stars condemned the police's investigation into the claims

However no evidence was offered during a hearing at Reading Crown Court

The pair had been accused of assaulting teen in Chester hotel room in 1968

Two members of Sixties pop group The Tremeloes strongly criticised police yesterday after they were cleared of a sex attack almost 50 years ago.

Leonard ‘Chip’ Hawkes and Richard Westwood had been due to stand trial next year accused of indecently assaulting a 15-year-old fan at the height of their fame.

But the case collapsed after it emerged that the complainant had mental health issues and her account was riddled with inconsistencies.

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Leonard Hawkes, left, and Richard Westwood, right, have been formally acquitted of indecently assaulting a 15-year-old girl after a gig nearly 50 years ago

Police knew the alleged victim had been sectioned, raising questions as to why detectives and prosecutors dragged the stars to court.

The woman’s allegations that she was assaulted after a concert in Chester in April 1968 emerged only in May 2013 when she approached police.

Mr Hawkes and Mr Westwood were questioned later that year and charged last year but a judge at Reading Crown Court ordered yesterday that they should be acquitted after the discovery of a diary in which the alleged victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, detailed her abuse.

The diary gave a contradictory account of events and there were concerns over when it had been written.

There has been no apology to the two men from either the Crown Prosecution Service or Cheshire Police, who investigated the case.

It is the latest in a series of high-profile inquiries into historical sex abuse claims to be dropped after the evidence was found to be spurious.

Sir Cliff Richard, Jim Davidson, Jimmy Tarbuck and Paul Gambaccini all faced false accusations.

End of a two-year ordeal: Rick Westwood with wife Lynn, left, and Chip Hawkes, right, with wife Carol outside court yesterday

At the time of the alleged assault The Tremeloes were at the height of their fame. Formed in Dagenham, Essex, in 1958, the group had ten top 10 hits in the 1960s

Outside court singer and bass player Mr Hawkes, 70, father of Nineties pop star Chesney Hawkes, accused detectives of failing to investigate the accusations properly amid the clamour to prosecute historical sex offenders in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.

He said: ‘The past two years have been the worst time of our lives.

'Our families have had to endure the stress and media publicity and it’s taken its toll on all of us.’

Mr Hawkes, who was having treatment for bone marrow cancer when he was arrested, said the case had had a severe impact on his health.

His wife Carol, a former actress and game show host, said: ‘We wondered if this was going to finish him off... we knew it was all totally untrue.’

THE BAND WHO BEAT THE BEATLES TO A RECORD DEAL Leonard Hawkes top left, and Richard Westwood, top right. The pair are pictured with their Tremeloes bandmates Dave Munden and Alan Blakley in 1968, the year of the alleged indecent assault They had a string of hits including two No 1 singles. But The Tremeloes are also known as the band who were originally considered better than The Beatles. In 1962, Decca Records auditioned both groups and rejected the Fab Four in favour of a quintet from Dagenham, East London, then known as Brian Poole and the Tremeloes. The decision was later described as the ‘worst mistake in music history’ but while The Tremeloes did not enjoy the world domination achieved by The Beatles, they still had a string of hits and made regular appearances on TV shows such as Top Of The Pops. The band, formed in 1958 by lead singer Poole and guitarist Rick West (Westwood), first charted in July 1963 with a version of Twist And Shout, an Isley Brothers song that had already been covered by The Beatles. It was the first of 11 top ten hits. Later that year they had their first No 1 with Do You Love Me. Further hits followed with Candy Man, Someone Someone and Here Comes My Baby. In 1967, after Poole left the band and Westwood took over as lead vocalist, they had their best-known hit, Silence Is Golden, which topped the charts for three weeks. Subsequent hits included Suddenly You Love Me and (Call Me) Number One. Chip Hawkes, who joined the band 1966, left in 1988 to concentrate on managing his son Chesney, who topped the charts in 1991 with The One And Only. He said: ‘I knew Chesney would get a rough time from jealous people, but talent won out. ‘Chesney has a lot more going for him than I ever had. He can act as well as sing.’ Hawkes lives in Chertsey, Surrey, with wife Carol and still performs in his own band, Class Of ’64. Westwood, who lives in Crowthorne, Berkshire, with his wife Lynn, continued to perform with The Tremeloes until retiring in 2012. The band is still going, although only drummer Dave Munden remains from the original Tremeloes line-up. Advertisement

Guitarist and lead vocalist Mr Westwood, 73, said his career had been tarnished on the basis of the ‘spurious allegations’.

‘I cannot begin to express the relief we feel now this nightmare has concluded,’ he said. ‘It is too late for me and my family to get back the years of our lives that have been destroyed.

‘It is a disgrace that a single claim dating back more than 48 years was never properly investigated before my good character was attacked.

'It was abundantly clear that these charges should never have been brought.’

Yesterday the Crown Prosecution Service and Cheshire Police released a joint statement saying: ‘A file of evidence was presented to the CPS and charges of sexual assault were authorised in December 2015.

Since then, fresh evidence has come to light which undermines the prosecution case and it has therefore been discontinued.’