FOUR Hampshire police officers who had malicious criminal proceedings hanging over their heads for three years have finally walked free from court.

The officers were among six who had faced a nightmare private prosecution over their handling of a domestic dispute in 1996.

All were charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice after Portsmouth man Simon Price - now jailed for perjury - began legal proceedings.

The six officers had been forced to attend more than a dozen court hearings before finally being vindicated. Literally hundreds of police hours had been wasted by the case, brought maliciously by Simon Price, who had fabricated evidence relating to Hampshire police's handling of a domestic incident at Paulsgrove.

Professional diver Price, 36, now serving four and a half years' imprisonment for perjury and kidnapping his own child, was said to have remained gleeful at having kept the false allegations dangling for so long.

This week, PC Robin Tebb, based at Hythe, PC Stuart Napleton, of Fratton, PC Karen Kerton, of Waterlooville and PC Alan Starr, now retired, were all formally cleared of the allegation after entering not guilty pleas. The relieved officers shook hands with each other after the brief hearing at Winchester Crown Court.

Mr Justice Toulson, who awarded the officers their costs, said: "Plainly, these proceedings were an abuse and it is entirely right that verdicts of not guilty should be entered." Det Insp Peter Shand, of Portsmouth CID, and PC Susan Cumberlidge, of Park Gate, were also cleared of the allegation earlier this month.

All six had been based at Cosham at the time of the domestic incident at the centre of Price's fictitious allegation. The father-of-one had also launched a private prosecution against DC Julian Barnes, then a PC based at Cosham but now with Waterlooville CID, by forging a witness statement, but the case was thrown out in November 1998.

Det Chief Insp Dean Jones, head of Southampton CID, who led a police inquiry into the case, said: "For three years these officers have been dragged into a variety of courts by Price. Thankfully for them, their ordeal has finally been brought to a close and Price is now serving a prison sentence."