'For three years I have had this hanging over my head and last night I got the first decent night of sleep for those three years,' Aussie Phil Walton told Plymouth Crown Court as the trial in which he faced 13 alleged sex offences with young girls went into its tenth day.

'I was getting to have my say,' he said. 'This morning was the first time I was able to get my head around the things that have happened.'

Walton was in court on Friday for the restart of his cross-examination as he continued to deny carrying out various sexual assaults on four girls aged at varying times from eight to 15 years.

He was asked by prosecuting barrister David Sapiecha why the girls would make up their allegations to which he replied: 'It is one of the questions that have been keeping me awake. I don't know.'

'They are accusing you of nasty grubby offences,' said Mr Sapiecha.

'It's not true,' said Walton.

Mr Sapiecha said that in public Walton appeared to be a 'do-gooder' but 'in private you were abusing these girls weren't you?' said Mr Sapiecha.

Walton replied: 'No.'

When asked if one of the girls had simply lied about what had happened Walton said: 'On the face of it, she must have done.'

Mr Sapiecha then said: 'You were grooming that girl, corrupting her.'

Walton replied: 'No.'

Mr. Sapiecha: 'Were you attracted to girls between eight and 13?'

Walton: 'No.'

Mr Sapiecha: 'Were they more compliant for you?'

Walton: No. I don't require to have sex with young girls. I had a good enough sex lifer of my own thank you very much.'

Under re-examination by his own barrister Mr George Threlfall, Walton said of the accusations: 'I was flabbergasted. It was almost incomprehensible. I was certainly upset. I don't recall crying. It was disbelief and where it was coming from.

'You know you are not that type of person and you have these things thrown at you and they are horrible things.'

Walton's only supporting witness called to the stand was his ex-wife Anne who lives in Kingsbridge.

She described her ex-husband saying: 'He is Australian. Laid back. He is always very easy going.'