A DELIVERY driver endured two days in a police cell and grillings by detectives after being wrongly suspected of a vicious sex attack.

Paul Harris says he was plunged into every man's worst nightmare after a woman claimed she had been seriously assaulted in her home in Canterbury city centre.

He was arrested because he was in the area and his description and uniform matched that of the alleged attacker.

But his ordeal, which involved him being finger-printed, DNA tested, his home searched and clothing seized, only ended when the woman confessed to making up the whole story.

Jayne Harrison, 43, of Black Griffen Lane, Canterbury, pleaded guilty to wasting police time when she appeared before the city's magistrates. She was sentenced to 160 hours community service and ordered to pay Mr Harris £180 compensation.

But 40-year-old Mr Harris, who lives at Chartham Hatch, says the harrowing experience of being kept in custody and questioned will stay with him forever. He said: "I was parked up in the area when two policeman came up.

"At first they just seemed interested in my van but then they called detectives who said I was being arrested on suspicion of a serious indecent assault. I nearly fell on the floor with shock. I was taken down to the police station where I was told they just wanted to eliminate me from their inquiries."

But Mr Harris, who is estranged from his wife, was subjected to three intensive interviews over a period of 36 hours and placed in an identity parade. He said: "The first two interviews were all about time and place and my job. But the police seemed to become increasingly suspicious because I wasn't clear about my timings.

"I was able to ring my boss and tell her I'd been arrested which was very difficult. I was saying, 'look you won't believe this. You know me, I haven't done it. I've never been to this woman's house or even seen her'.

"I have never been so frightened in my life. Once it got to later in the day and the police wanted me to go into an ID parade, I thought, hang on, I'm being stitched up here. I had all sorts of things going through my head.

"My solicitor later told me I hadn't been identified but because they had been up to my house and picked up a couple of jackets, they thought I had been dressing up as people, like the gas man.

"They kept me overnight in the cell which was awful. I was just curled up in a ball thinking is this ever going to end. It was very scary. I had never been arrested before let alone put in a cell.

"They also questioned my estranged wife about intimate details of our sex life when we were together. The interviews started to get heavy and by this time I was really confused and tired and could hardly speak.

"They seemed to be pulling out all the stops to do me for it. They thought I was lying and I was struggling not to lose my temper because you can only take so much battering.

"Later that day the forensics came back and obviously there was nothing so they released me, but I was still on police bail.

"By now my friends knew about it but they were all brilliant and very supportive, as was my wife. They all knew that I am not a violent person and would never do anything like that.

"Later that day when the police told me the woman had made the story up and I wanted to jump for joy. I couldn't believe what I had been through. It was surreal but a nightmare.

"The detectives were really apologetic and I understand they had a job to do but it was an awful experience that I'll never forget."

He added: "I was angry that I had caught up in it but in some ways I feel sorry for this woman who obviously had problems.

"The sentence she got is probably about right but I'm not fussed about the compensation because nothing will compensate me for going through that.

"I had been through a very emotional break-up in my marriage and was just getting my life together when it happened. I am surprised just how much it has continued to affect me even months afterwards."