THE leader of a Medway majorette troupe who was cleared of indecently assaulting two girls earlier this year has died.

Roy Clarke, 70, of Merrals Wood Road, Strood, who led the Chatham-based Pentagonettes, is believed to have had a heart attack.

Mr Clarke was acquitted of indecently assaulting two majorettes more than 18 years ago when they were aged 11 and 13. They told Maidstone Crown Court that the incidents happened in 1983 when he was measuring them for their uniforms.

After being cleared he said the allegations meant that his life would never be the same again.

Mr Clarke was a former woodwork and metalwork teacher. He had worked as a supply teacher at St John Fisher School in Chatham.

He had run the Pentagonettes troupe, now known as the Medway Stars, for 28 years.