A TRUSTED builder who has worked on dozens of people's homes over the years claimed that those who had accused him of sex abuse were liars.

Frederick Peter Hichens, from Porthleven, is charged with 17 counts of indecent assault involving a total of 66 separate occasions, and one of attempted rape, which the prosecution allege took place between the 1960s and 2000. A number are alleged to have involved underage girls.

The 73-year-old has pleaded not guilty to all charges and now stands trial at Truro Crown Court.

During cross examination yesterday by Prosecutor Peter Coombe, Hichens continued to claim he had not committed any of the allegations made against him.

However under questioning he said he could not remember things and constantly claimed that his hearing device was not working.

When asked why he had apparently confessed these crimes to nurses at the Royal Cornwall Hospital he said it was because he was stressed and anxious after threats were made against him and he was accused of being a paedophile.

"I have no idea why I said that," he said. "I was in a bad place, I was in a bad state."

He said people were threatening violence against him. He denied he had said to one accuser he was scared of going to prison because of what would happen to him as a paedophile.

He claimed that he had retracted his confession to the nurses at police interview after his arrest because his solicitor had advised him to say 'no comment', which he did.

He said he had 'no recollection' of confessing to the nurses. He said he had feigned mental illness in the hope he would be taken somewhere safe after the threats against him.

He told the court: "I have never exposed my penis to any of my accusers." He said the allegations were not true. "It's all lies, honest God's truth, he said.

He said he had no recollection of saying to one accuser that 'it was different back then' when they accused him of being a paedophile.

The jury was told that in the early 1960s he was cautioned by the police for having sex with an underage girl aged 14 when he was 18 and getting her pregnant.

When Mr Coombe put it to Hichens that he [Hichens] didn't see anything wrong with have sex with a child, the defendant claimed he was having difficulty with the hearing apparatus.

When the details of one assault allegation were put to him he said 'it didn't happen'. He said the claims made against him of sexual assaults in the 1960s were 'wicked lies'.

One character witness, a retired teacher, wrote a glowing character reference for Hichens, saying she had first met him when he had been highly recommended as a builder to her 30 years ago.

She said she found him honest and reliable, doing a huge amount of work on their house, looking after it when she and her late husband were away.

"He is one of the most honest people I have ever met," she said in the letter. "When my husband had his first stroke he was kind and attentive. He put hanging baskets up and baked us a saffron cake."

She said he had worked in dozens of homes and had never given her any cause for concern.

The trial continues.