Man attacked at mother’s grave in Waterlooville

A 48-year-old man was cleared of sex offences at a trial held at Portsmouth Crown Court in 2011.

But after an eight-year-old report of the allegations was shared on Facebook the man said his car was damaged and he was attacked at Waterlooville Cemetery in Hulbert Road.

Police have confirmed they are investigating after the victim was left with cuts to his hand and arm in the attack on February 27 between 9.10am and 9.20am.

The suspect was a white man, in his late 20s, 6ft tall, and was wearing black jacket with light blue Adidas tracksuit bottoms and a baseball cap.

The man, who asked The News to report on the attack and its circumstances, said: 'I went to the cemetery and I thought there's something there - I started hearing this noise, a sniffing.

'I could see a bloke with a utility knife with a scarf over his mouth.

'He cut me across my arm and down my hand five or six times.

'The day before was a brick, then it was a knife slashing and what's tomorrow? A knife in my back?

'The last few days I have been through hell.'

The man, from the wider Waterlooville area, said a man on a bike had thrown a brick through his vehicle's windscreen the day before he was slashed.

He added: 'Everyone thinks (the court case) is recent.

'They've put "he's been done for being a child molester and is a paedophile" - my record is completely clear.

'I'm getting messages and messages. Somebody has put on Facebook "make him pay for it".

'I was driving down the road, and thought there's a bike behind me.

'Next thing I know it goes past... and a brick was thrown through my windscreen.

'They went up off the road, put the right hand in their pocket - I thought it was going to be a gun.'

The News reported on the 2011 trial with separate online articles covering each day of the trial. The man said someone has shared the prosecution opening - detailing the allegations against him - but not the report of him being cleared of all charges.