BRYAN Maloney, the Urchfont gardener cleared of killing mother-of-two Karen Chandler, has criticised the police investigation, which, he claims, has left the real murderer at large.

Speaking at his home, Mr Maloney claimed the police never considered any other suspect.

He also alleged they interviewed him late at night and did all in their power to pressure him into confessing.

He said they still have his van, bicycle, gardening tools, photographic equipment, clothes and many other items seized from his house when he was arrested in June last year.

The prosecution at the trial at Bristol Crown Court claimed Mr Maloney was besotted with Mrs Chandler and, out of jealousy following her liaisons with other men, killed her, burning her body in her car on the edge of Salisbury Plain.

Mr Maloney walked free from Bristol Crown Court two weeks ago after a jury found him not guilty by a majority verdict.

Mr Maloney not only denies all the allegations but maintains his relationship with Mrs Chandler has been completely misrepresented, and was entirely platonic.

He told the Gazette: "We were only ever just very good friends."

After numerous adjournments and delays the case finally came to court on October 16 this year, 16 months after Mr Maloney was first arrested. He said it had been purgatory both for him and his family, with intimate details of his life made public in court and in the media. He finally spent four-and-a-half hours in the witness box .

He said: "It was an absolute living nightmare. I still get flashbacks. I haven't slept through the night since."

The jury was out for eight-and-a-half hours deciding his fate. He said it was a very tense time for him and his family, but the longer it went on, the more optimistic his defence team became.

Their optimism was rewarded when the jury returned a majority verdict in his favour.

Mr Maloney has paid tribute to his defence team solicitor Andrew Eddy, barrister Neil Ford QC and junior counsel Peter Codner. He said: "I couldn't have wished for a better team looking after me. They never lost faith in me. Mr Eddy said he knew I was innocent from the very first and even tried to have the case thrown out."

Mr Eddy, of Goughs in Devizes Market Place, is still looking after Mr Maloney's interests, and is now trying to get his belongings returned by the police, and fighting to get his industrial injury allowance awarded after a tractor tyre blew up in his face 20 years ago, damaging the sight in one eye reinstated and backdated.

Mr Maloney said he has seen his GP on a regular basis since his release for a range of chronic ailments including asthma, high blood pressure, angina and rheumatism. But he has resisted taking sleeping pills. He doesn't want to become dependent on them.

He is painfully aware that there are no winners in this case and he extends his sympathy to Mrs Chandler's family and her sons.

He said: "I feel for the boys, I really do. But I have lost a close friend who I dearly miss. I only hope the police can look at the case again and find whoever really did it."

Mr Maloney now wants to pick up the threads of his life. He said once the police return his gardening equipment and his van, he will get back to work, though he doesn't believe it will be before Christmas.

He said he has had a lot of good feedback from his friends in the village who are pleased he is back in their midst.

He has not, as feared, been the target of any hate campaign but said he has not been out very much since he came home.

His wife Gwen is delighted to have him home again and the Maloney family is doing everything they can to get back to normal.

But, at the end of the day, they know that nothing will ever be the same again.