THREE prison officers accused of corruption have walked free from a court with their good characters intact after their trial was halted less than halfway through.

A former inmate who was in the dock with them has also been cleared, while his wife has been declared innocent without having to face a jury.

Shaun Kerry, Malcolm Watkins and Gary Rowlands, who were all based at Elmley Prison on the Isle of Sheppey, and Peter Smith, who was a prisoner there at the time, were all found not guilty on a judge's direction at Maidstone Crown Court after submissions made on their behalf in the absence of the jury.

Mr Watkins is also the coach of Maidstone United Football Club.

Peter Smith's wife, Janet, whose trial had been put off until the New Year because of ill health, returned home knowing that she will not now have to stand her trial.

Judge David Croft, QC, told the jury: "In relation to the prison officers, you will appreciate that much turns on what Mr Smith had to say on the telephone - indeed, almost entirely."

Those recorded telephone conversations, which had formed a major part of the evidence during the trial, were in fact hearsay, which did not normally feature in a trial, and could do so only if they showed there was a corrupt agreement to accept gifts.

"On analysis," said the judge, "they have failed to do so, so that those telephone conversations are only evidence against Mr Smith and not against the other three."

Judge Croft then directed the jury to return verdicts of not guilty in respect of Shaun Kerry, from Folkestone; Malcolm Watkins, from Bearsted, near Maidstone, and Gary Rowlands, of Eastchurch, Sheppey, and also in respect of Londoner Peter Smith, after Christopher May, prosecuting, said the Crown would be offering no further evidence in his case, or in the case of his wife Janet.

All five have had the charges hanging over their heads for a number of years. It was in 1998 and 1999 that they were alleged to have been involved in the offences and it was only this month that their trial eventually began, following a series of delays caused by legal problems.