A CHILDRENS' home worker nicknamed the Beast of the Belltower was jailed for eight years yesterday for the sexual abuse of two boys.

Pervert John Porteous was given his nickname because he committed sexual acts against the boys in the 150ft tower at Quarrier's Children's Village.

They were only eight and 12 when the abuse started, and it lasted eight years at the home, near Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire.

A jury at the High Court in Glasgow cleared 69-year-old Porteous of sexually abusing a third boy and a girl.

Charges of assault, neglect and ill treatment of children against Porteous's wife, Helen, were dropped and she was found not guilty.

During the trial, the court heard that Helen Porteous contacted ex-colleagues and residents of Quarrier's to speak for her husband.

But one of the boys she spoke to had been abused by him and he went to police.

Lord Hardie told Porteous that it was ironic that his wife's support and faith in him had resulted in a victim coming forward.

When the jury announced their verdict, Porteous's daughter shouted to him: "Dad, I love you. It's all lies. His life has been destroyed."

He replied: "Fight them for me."

As he was led to the cells, Porteous shouted out: "They are liars, absolute liars."

Mrs Porteous still lives in the village, now converted to private homes.

Last year, 71-year-old Samuel McBrearty was jailed for 12 years for raping two girls and repeatedly indecently assaulting them and another girl when he was a house father at Quarrier's.