Two former nursery workers who were falsely accused of child abuse have finally had their names removed from a Government paedophiles list - eight years after they were acquitted by a judge.

Dawn Reed and Christopher Lillie were each awarded £200,000 in libel damages in July after successfully suing the four authors of a report which branded them child abusers.

The pair, who both worked at Shieldfield Nursery in Newcastle, were initially charged with sexually abusing youngsters in their care, but in 1994 a judge directed a jury at Newcastle Crown Court to acquit them.

After the trial, Newcastle City Council commissioned an independent review team to write a report, which in 1998 accused Ms Reed and Mr Lillie of being paedophiles.

Finally, after several years spent clearing their names, they learned that they were still on List 99 - the Department for Education's secret dossier of people who are convicted or suspected of abusing children. It meant they could not work with children while they were on the list, even though they had been cleared of any wrongdoing.

Yesterday, the pair's solicitor, Richard Osborne, said it was a huge relief to them that they had finally had their names removed from the list this week.

"They felt as if it was an unwarranted accusation which was very much a weight on their shoulders.

"The fact that they have had the humiliation of being on the list shouldn't have happened and it is something of a great relief to have their names removed," he said.

Since their ordeal, the pair have vowed never to work with children again.

Ms Reed is studying for a law degree at university and Mr Lillie has trained as a chef.

They are now awaiting the result of a joint complaint to the General Medical Council about the actions of Dr Camille San Lazaro, who gave evidence at the libel hearing that some of the Shieldfield children had been abused.

She has been suspended from her post as a consultant paediatrician at Newcastle' Royal Victoria Infirmary until the hospital trust carries out an independent inquiry into her work.