A FORMER firefighter jailed after his alleged sex attack victim came forward in the wake of the Jimmy Savile affair has had his conviction quashed by leading judges.

David Bryant, now 66, of Grove Road East, Christchurch, who was accused of committing an offence against a 14-year-old boy in the 1970s, was present at the Court of Appeal in London for the ruling.

His "unsafe" conviction was overturned by Sir Brian Leveson, Mr Justice Singh and Mr Justice Holgate in the light of new evidence relating to the credibility of the alleged victim.

Mr Bryant was released on bail from prison last Friday. He was facing at least a further year-and-a-half behind bars if his conviction challenge had failed.

The prosecution told the three judges that it was not resisting Mr Bryant's appeal and not seeking a retrial, but acknowledged that the "ultimate decision" was one for the court.

Mr Bryant, who was found guilty of buggery by a majority verdict in December 2013, was originally jailed for six years in January 2014.

But a few months later appeal judges increased the sentence to eight-and-a-half years after ruling that the original term imposed at Bournemouth Crown Court was "unduly lenient".

Mr Bryant was accused of carrying out the attack with another man who was working as a fireman in Christchurch after they had invited the schoolboy to their fire station to play darts with them.

At a previous Court of Appeal hearing a judge said the alleged victim did not report the alleged incident until 2012 "after being motivated to come forward in the aftermath of the Jimmy Savile affair''.

The man who made the accusation was named in court as Danny Day, and Sir Brian said that previous reporting in the press "certainly makes it clear that he has waived his right to anonymity".

At the time of the alleged offence Mr Bryant was aged 26. He has been described as a man of "impeccable character", who has led an "exemplary" life, not only in his work as a fireman, but in wider work involving charity in the community.

Mr Justice Singh, announcing the decision to quash the conviction, said that the fresh material before the court included information that "over a period from 2000 to 2010 the complainant in this case had to seek medical attention from his GP in relation to what can only be described as his being a chronic liar".

He said that the one issue in the case was "credibility", adding: "This was vital to the jury's task of resolving the conflict in the evidence between the complainant and the appellant."

It was submitted on Mr Bryant's behalf that the fresh evidence "was such that a jury might reasonably have declined to convict".

As Mr Bryant sat at the front of the courtroom, Mr Justice Singh said: "Finally, we regret that these matters did not come to light earlier and that the appellant, a man of good character, has suffered the consequences that he has."

Mr Bryant, who was with his wife Lynn, 53, said outside court: "After over two years jailed for a crime I did not commit, today I am a free man."

He said he had been jailed in a "gross miscarriage of justice".

Mr Bryant, who retired as a firefighter in 2006, added: "This was a case that should never have been brought, which has caused so much pain and hurt to me and my wife and our family."

He said: "The toll it has taken upon me and my family has been terrible, but we never gave up fighting for justice and refused to be beaten by lies.

"We refused to be broken by this injustice which robbed me of my liberty and destroyed my reputation.

"While today is a victory and I am once again free, there are serious questions about how allegations of historic sexual abuse are investigated and dealt with.

"What happened to me must never be allowed to happen again. Being wrongly imprisoned as an innocent man is a living hell and something I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy."