A nurse cleared of sexually assaulting a 70-year-old woman at a Canterbury care home says he will not return to the profession.

A jury found Laurence Arnold not guilty of the alleged attack last week – but it has left him out of work and uncertain of his future.

Mr Arnold, 58, of Wantsum Close in Herne Bay, insists he bears no ill-feeling towards the care home or his accuser.

He said this week: “It obviously upset me and was quite distressing and stressful.

“The case hung over me for 17 months and my character was impugned.

“But all I can say is that I am grateful to the jury for finding me not guilty. The trial was very fair, although I may not have been saying that if I was sitting in Wormwood Scrubs.

“I don’t bear any malice or rancour against anyone.”

Mr Arnold, who holds a doctorate in psychology, has been a qualified nurse for nearly 30 years and worked at the care home involved for nine years.

Early last year, he helped a multiple sclerosis sufferer at the care home use a commode.

Prosecutors alleged he talked about her breasts and skin, touched her sexually and became aroused while helping move her.

Mr Arnold denied two charges of sexual assault. He said he had been merely been moving her on and off the commode so that she could then go to bed.

“I honestly think she was just mistaken,” he said after the 12-day trial at Canterbury Crown Court.

“It’s a shame for everyone involved because this is one of the better nursing homes around.

“I don’t bear any malice or rancour against anyone” - cleared nurse Laurence Arnold

“And it would have been much easier if it had been dealt with internally. But things were reported and it escalated from there. Lots of staff did come forward on my behalf and they were very supportive.”

Mr Arnold was suspended from his job and then made redundant.

He added: “I won’t go back into nursing and I’m just trying to find some new work, but I don’t know what that will be. I’m just waiting for the dust to settle.”