Charges were thrown out against two sisters said to have falsely claimed a man, who was stabbed later that evening, a paedophile.

Mary and Megan Wright had been due to stand trial at Swindon Magistrates’ Court on Thursday on charges of disorderly behaviour.

But when neither they nor their victim turned up at court, prosecutors were forced to offer no evidence and formal not guilty verdicts recorded by the magistrates.

An earlier court hearing heard the Wright sisters were said to have been part of a group that had congregated on Spring Gardens, near Swindon Borough Council’s offices, on August 13 last year.

They spotted 59-year-old Janusz Pielak nearby. Prosecutors claimed the two women incorrectly claimed Mr Pielak was due before the courts the following day for molesting a 15-year-old girl.

Prosecutor Nick Barr said at the women’s plea hearing earlier this year: “Some of the gentlemen in that group took exception to that." Mr Pielak was stabbed later that evening as he returned to his tent. He was slashed in the arms and the back.

Lee Sparks and Anthony Gardiner were sentenced to 16 months and 19 months imprisonment respectively for wounding the man.

Mary Wright, 24, and Megan Wright, 22, who both gave a care of address of John Street, pleaded not guilty in January to a charge of disorderly behaviour causing Mr Pielak harassment, alarm or distress.