A FORMER firefighter falsely accused of raping a schoolboy has blamed police for his wife’s death, claiming the stress of his wrongful conviction killed her.

“Devoted” Lynn Bryant, who was 54, had campaigned to see husband David exonerated after he was found guilty of buggery by a majority verdict in December 2013.

But just over six months after judges sitting in London’s High Court overturned Mr Bryant’s conviction, Mrs Bryant died from sepsis, which occurs when the body’s immune system goes into overdrive during an infection.

In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Bryant, 65, said he and his wife had suffered a “living hell”.

“I think the stress killed her,” he told a reporter for the paper.

“You couldn’t prove it, but it stands to reason.

“If Dorset Police had given us a timely apology, that would have helped Lynn. That’s all we really wanted.”

In 2016, Mr Justice Singh said 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”. 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.”

Mrs Bryant assembled a team of friends, lawyers and private investigators to prove that the alleged victim was a serial liar.

A Dorset Police spokesperson said: “We are really sorry to hear of Mrs Bryant’s death and our thoughts are with her family at this difficult time.

“Mr Bryant is currently liaising with our legal department, seeking disclosure of relevant documentation.

"It is vitally important for a police force to ensure that any disclosure of police information is lawful and the process of liaising with Mr Bryant in this respect remains ongoing.”

Christchurch’s mayor, Councillor Trish Jamieson, announced Mrs Bryant’s death at a council meeting last week. Mr Bryant is a freeman of Christchurch for his work with the fire service.

She said: “It’s so sad. Mrs Bryant had worked so hard - she had given up everything to get Mr Bryant released from prison.”

A notice announcing her death appeared in the Daily Echo on Saturday.

A funeral service will take place at Bournemouth Crematorium on Monday, March 13 at 3pm. Mourners are asked to wear a “splash of colour”.