CAMPAIGNERS last night demanded a public inquiry into a multi-million pound child abuse investigation run by Northumbria Police.

The organisation, Falsely Accused Carers and Teachers (FACT), has raised serious doubts over the merit of the investigation which, it claims, has ruined the lives of dozens of innocent men.

The group, which includes solicitors, barristers and academics among its members, believes the inquiry has had an enormous effect on highly respected care workers with decades of service.

It claims:

l Some senior North-East care workers have been suspended with no real prospect of getting their jobs back

l Careers stretching over decades have been ruined

l One accused man, who was later acquitted, moved his family to Spain for fear of reprisals

l Innocent men have been shunned despite being found not guilty

l Families have been torn apart by the stigma of child abuse during investigations which took a number of years.

Northumbria Police's inquiries have centred on children's homes throughout the region.

A team of up to 30 officers has contacted former care home residents searching for allegations of abuse against social workers.

The investigation has resulted in more than 20 court cases being brought against more than 30 care workers. Just three have been successful.

One Newcastle law firm has defended 16 cases - all the accused were found not guilty or their cases were thrown out of court.

In one case, a jury at Newcastle Crown Court took just 17 minutes to acquit a North-East carer accused of two cases of indecent assault on teenage boys.

The overall cost of the investigations has already run into millions.

Care worker Steve Milbourn gave up his career, sold his £100,000 home and moved his family to Spain after facing child abuse charges. He was later cleared after flying back to appear in court.

The inquiry has employed the so-called "trawling" method, where officers go in search of former residents to inquire if they suffered abuse years ago.

Last night, he wept as he said: "I feel very, very bitter. The police knew that these allegations were wrong from the very start. The trawling that they do is a bad way of doing things."

He is critical of police methods. "The police were grasping at straws. They brought blokes to court to give evidence, three of whom came from prison in handcuffs. They were making allegations from ten to 13 years ago. It was laughable."

Despite being cleared of all charges, Steve and family remain in Spain where his daughter is now learning Spanish. They plan to stay there for the foreseeable future.

Legal executive Gill Rutherford, who works for Thompsons solicitors in Newcastle, said: "What has happened in these cases is police start to investigate before any complaints are made."

Despite many workers being cleared of any wrongdoing, they are still under suspension. A large proportion have been suspended on full pay for more than two years, one man for over four years.

The Crown Prosecution Service said that eight trials had resulted in full acquittals and three cases have resulted in convictions. Details of the number of trials thrown out of court were not available.

A CPS response stated: "Of the cases that went to trial, it was considered that there was a realistic prospect of conviction in all of them."

Northumbria Police issued a statement to say: "We have followed procedures laid down in child protection guidelines."

A number of North-East social services departments declined to comment. And the Home Office refused to comment on the situation saying it was an operational policing matter