CHOKING back tears, Arben Llukovi ponders how he is going to piece his life back together after a “year from hell”.

Mr Llukovi, 28, collapsed in the dock at Southend Crown Court yesterday as he was acquitted of attempted rape.

The Albanian-born builder told the Echo he lost weight, was unable to sleep and ended up taking anti-depressants to cope with the ordeal of standing trial for a crime he did not commit.

His 26-year-old accuser, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was not in court to see her claims quashed.

Mr Llukovi said: “The case has ruined my life.

“It has been a year from hell.

“To accuse somebody of something like that is disgusting. There’s no other word for it.”

Mr Llukovi’s nightmare began when he met the woman in Southend’s Element nightclub, in Alexandra Street, eight months ago.

The pair kissed and then went outside to his car, where he claimed she performed a sex act on him.

He then agreed to drive her home, but pulled over near the BP garage in London Road, Westcliff, when she began screaming he had stolen her mobile phone.

She got out of the car in a rage and struck the windscreen with one of her shoes, cracking it.

But when the woman later went to police to report her missing mobile, she claimed Mr Llukovi had forced himself on her.

During the alleged frantic struggle, she said she threw a punch which smashed his head against the windscreen and caused the damage.

Yesterday, jurors refused to believe the woman’s story and returned a unanimous not guilty verdict.

Paramedics were summoned to the court after Mr Llukovi, who lives with his cousin in Belvedere, Kent, was overcome with relief and collapsed.

Speaking after he had recovered his composure, he said: “I’m happy, just happy, but it’s not right I was here.

“I have never been in trouble, never been in a police station before. To come up with the story she did was just horrible.”