The Accused: Beyond Reasonable Doubt ends tonight with the devastating story of David Bryant, whose life was turned upside down after false allegations led to him being wrongly jailed.
David had built a respected life in Christchurch, Dorset, where he lived with his wife Lynn and their family.
A former fire station chief, he was even awarded The Freedom of the Borough, the highest ceremonial honour the local council could give.
Everything changed on October 20, 2012, when a handwritten letter arrived at his home.
The years that followed are explored in The Accused: Beyond Reasonable Doubt, revealing the shocking ordeal David and Lynn endured.
The Accused: Beyond Reasonable Doubt’s David Bryant case
David retired in 2006 and was enjoying life until his friend Alex Stanley received a distressed phone call from Lynn in 2012.
Alex says: “Something in her voice just didn’t sound right. She said, ‘We’ve had this letter put through the door’.”
The letter read: “Dave, it’s Danny Day. 35 years ago I used to collect the glasses in the Legion. And I am the one you played darts with in the fire station.
“At six o’clock tonight I’m going to the fire station to report what went on. And at 7, I’m going to the national papers.
“I think it’s time you and me had a chat. I think this is in your interest to call. One way or another you will pay for what you had done in late ’76 or early ’77.”
David barely remembered Danny, while Lynn was left “inconsolable”.
Danny later accused David and another former firefighter of raping him in the late 1970s.
In a police interview shown in the documentary, Danny says: “There was this thing coming out a couple of months ago with Jimmy Savile. I had to come forward because I kind of think there must have been other youngsters involved in this who maybe aren’t as strong as me.”
Operation Yewtree had been announced the previous day following the Jimmy Savile scandal.
David Bryant jailed for sexual assault
David denied the allegations throughout but was charged. The second man accused by Danny had died in 2003.
David stood trial at Bournemouth Crown Court in December 2013 with family and friends supporting him.
His solicitor Mark Hensleigh says: “It’s one person’s word against another.”
Danny told the court he remembered a pool table in the fire station and being led through a fire exit. Friends of David pointed out neither existed there in 1976.
“It just seemed a nonsense,” says retired firefighter Paul Jarvis.
Despite this, the jury returned a majority verdict of 10 to two, finding David guilty of one count of buggery, the historical legal term for the offence.
The judge allowed David home for Christmas before sentencing him to six years in prison the following month.
Alex says: “They’d found this man who wasn’t guilty. You know in your heart he didn’t do it, deep down.”
David Bryant’s fight for freedom
Three months later David returned to court to appeal his sentence. Instead, it was increased by two years.
While in prison he met another inmate who Danny had claimed knew about the allegations years earlier.
Police took a statement from the man, who said Danny had never mentioned David to him.
At the same time, Danny launched compensation claims against David and the fire service after already receiving £11,000 from the Criminal Injuries Commission.
Mr Hensleigh says: “I knew that this was clearly to do with money and that was the reason he was doing it.”
Those compensation proceedings proved crucial because Danny’s medical records became available to David’s legal team.
‘A compulsive liar’
Mr Hensleigh says: “There was loads of things in there we didn’t know about Danny Day. In particular, that he was a fantasist. There was a history of him going to see his GP and seeking help to the fact he was lying.”
Alex adds: “Danny Day was a compulsive liar who had actually been to the doctors seeking help because he lied so much. Who does that?”
The case eventually reached the Court of Appeal.
A private investigator also uncovered more false claims Danny had made, including saying he had been good enough at boxing to compete at the Olympics.
After considering the fresh evidence, three appeal judges quashed David’s conviction. He walked free after spending two and a half years in prison.
Alex recalls: “Those three judges said, ‘We owe you an apology. We’re sorry for what has happened to you’.”
David and Lynn Bryant’s sad ending
The documentary also reveals the heartbreaking years that followed.
In February 2017, Lynn became seriously ill and died from sepsis, only eight months after David’s release.
Soon afterwards David began showing signs of dementia.
Alex recalls: “Dave said one day, ‘I think Lynn’s left me, I can’t find Lynn’.”
David now receives round the clock care. Of the nine years since his release, he has lived with dementia for five.
“He’s a good man, he’s a lovely man. He is a gentle soul. And he didn’t deserve what he got,” says Alex.
What happened to Danny Day? Has David received compensation?
In 2020, Danny Day was convicted of one count of perverting the course of justice and received a nine month suspended sentence.
David has since sought compensation from the Ministry of Defence for his wrongful imprisonment but has not received any.
In a statement shown in the documentary, Dorset Police says it “takes all reports of sexual assault very seriously”.
The force says the Crown Prosecution Service decided to prosecute after reviewing the police evidence.
“Mr Bryant’s case was heard by a jury who ultimately reached a guilty verdict,” the statement adds. “The conviction was subsequently found to be unsafe by the Court of Appeal and overturned.”
Dorset Police also says it has “deep sympathy” for David and his family.]
- The Accused: Beyond Reasonable Doubt airs at 10pm on Channel 4 on Thursday July 9, 2026
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