TEACHERS and care workers who say their lives were destroyed as a result of one of the North-East's biggest child abuse inquiries have launched a bitter attack on police.

Operation Rose - the codename for Northumbria Police's five-year inquiry - investigated almost 200 people. More than 30 were charged; six were convicted.

Many of those accused say their lives have been wrecked by false allegations of physical and sexual assault. They have accused the force of using 'trawling' methods to root out complaints from former residents of children's homes in the area.

One former teacher - a former Durham University student - has lodged a grievance with the Police Complaints Authority, alleging victimisation and malicious prosecution.

Ray Johnston, of Northumberland, said: "My life has been utterly destroyed in the last five years for no reason whatsoever."

Operation Rose was launched after allegations from two former care home residents of sexual and physical abuse.

A three-year investigation led to 32 people being charged with a total of 142 alleged offences - and it took another two years to bring all the cases to court. Court reporting restrictions, which had previously covered Operation Rose cases, were lifted on Tuesday with the collapse of the final case at Newcastle Crown Court.

Derek Gordon, of Chester-le-Street, who was acquitted of allegations that he physically abused children in his care, said his life would never return to normal.

Esme Allenby, 54, of Cramlington, was told she would not face trial for nine alleged indecent assaults dating back 27 years.

Mr Gordon had almost three decades of unblemished work with difficult children at a care home in Northumberland when a former client accused him of using undue force to restrain her. He remained suspended on full pay for three years before his case came to trial. Despite being cleared, he said he would never work with children again.

Mr Gordon, who has co-founded the North-East branch of Falsely Accused Carers and Teachers (FACT), condemned the 'trawling' methods, in which police actively seek-out complainants.

In an open letter to Northumbria Police Chief Constable Crispian Strachan, Mr Gordon and fellow FACT member Ray Johnston write: "Our conservative estimate of the true financial cost of Operation Rose to the economy of the region is in excess of £10m.

"This is only the financial cost. The real cost in terms of the blighted careers of experienced, caring and well-qualified staff who have been rendered unemployable despite being found not guilty can only be imagined."

The case against Mr Johnston was thrown out of court after the judge considered that three-and-a-half years for the case to come to trial was against his human rights.

Northumbria Police Assistant Chief Constable John Scott said: "Although our investigation has taken a considerable time to conclude, we believe it was right to conduct the investigation because no one should be denied the opportunity to complain about criminal activity against them while in care.

"It was a thorough and professional investigation which sought to establish the truth behind what happened to children who were entrusted to the care of others."

But one senior officer has also criticised the courts for taking decisions which lengthened the process and denied some alleged victims the chance to have their say.

The long-running inquiry has cost Northumbria Police £5m over a period of three years, the equivalent of investigating five murders.

Following best practice established in other areas, the force decided to manage the inquiry by seeking information from a fixed proportion of residents in each of the homes.

Without revealing the nature of their investigations, the inquiry team wrote to ten per cent of former residents. They informed them that an inquiry had begun into a home in which they had once lived and asked if they had any information which might help.

A third of the residents replied, either saying they had information or did not want the police to contact them. The courts upheld the process, known as 'trawling', accepting the letters simply sought information and did not make suggestions to recipients.

No complaints of malpractice were received.

A number of cases were halted because the judiciary deemed that the length of time taken for the cases to reach court breached Article 6 of the Human Rights Act, which requires a hearing within a reasonable time.

Many delays, however, occurred because of adjournments made at the request of defence lawyers and the courts themselves.

All the agencies involved in the inquiry, including the Crown Prosecution Service and the victims' counselling services, have reviewed the processes that were used in the investigation.

A number of recommendations for criminal justice, social services and health agencies have now been made, to ensure best practice in any similar investigation in the future.