A POSTMAN found himself at the centre of a bogus love child row after using the Friends Reunited website to trace old school pals.

Stephen Williamson described his ordeal after being falsely accused by a woman of fathering a child during a trip to the Canary Islands he never made.

He was only told the woman had realised she made a mistake last night and the Child Support Agency had dropped the case against him.

The 37-year-old from Bolton told how he joined the website to trace old classmates.

But he was stunned to receive an e-mail from the woman who claimed she met him on a holiday to Gran Canaria in 1994. She said that he was the father of her child.

Stephen, of Union Street, Bolton, said he had only been abroad once, to Florida in 2001 with his wife of 17 years, Jane.

Shock

The couple, who were childhood sweethearts, have two daughters, 16-year-old Sam and 11-year-old Kirsty.

Stephen assumed the e-mail was a mistake, until a shock letter from the CSA dropped on his doormat last week.

The CSA told Stephen he would have to take a DNA test if he wanted to contest the allegation and prove he wasn't the father.

But today, Stephen's wife Jane revealed he received a phone call from the CSA late last night telling him to "rip up" all the documents as there had been a mistake.

Jane said: "They have cleared it up. It looks like this woman has got the wrong man, which we knew anyway."

Stephen added his name to the popular website's Castle Hill School page two years ago and received the bombshell e-mail last March.

The woman asked him if he remembered their holiday romance in 1994. Stephen didn't reply, then received the letter from the CSA to say they had launched an investigation.

Rediculous

Stephen, who always denied he had met the woman, said today: "I'm relieved it's all over, but I have been through the wringer because of this.

"I couldn't believe the CSA could act like this without checking the facts first.

"What sort of place are they running when an honest, married bloke, who has never been unfaithful, can suddenly be accused by a person they have never met before and be expected to prove they are not the father? It's ridiculous."

The woman refused to answer the door at her home on the outskirts of Manchester, while a CSA spokesman said: "We can not comment on individual cases.

"However, if a parent is alleging paternity and that is being denied, we would go back to the parent and make sure they are absolutely certain it is the right person."

Steve Pankhurst, co-founder of Friends Reunited, added: "We have measures in place to avoid these situations as best we can. In this case, the lady tracked the man down through the postal service."

Have you been vicitm of a CSA mistake?