Residents of a Shropshire village have expressed shock that a teacher facing a string of sex charges was living in the area without parents and neighbours being informed.

Robert Stringer moved to Redstone Drive, Highley, near Bridgnorth, eight months ago after he was charged with 13 sex offences, including rape, involving two girls under 13.

He died on Sunday when his car crashed into a motorway bridge on the A41 in Hertfordshire, the day before he was due in court in London.

Parent Glen Dambravskas, who lives in nearby Carlton Rise, said he was alarmed.

“I would have liked to know what was happening. However, for the sake of the family it is time to move on,” he said.

Highley parish councillor Dennis Bache said: “He was never found guilty, but people in the area had a right to know he was under suspicion of the charges.

“We have to be open-minded because the man was not found guilty of the offences and his family has done nothing wrong, but I think it’s appalling that no-one in the area seemed to know about this man.”

But his son-in-law Paul Turner said the family moved to Highley because Stringer, who also had a home in Hertfordshire, wanted them to be safe and near friends of his disabled wife Sue.

“Robert did not come to Highley that often, but most of our neighbours knew everything about the allegations,” he said.

“Everything was blown out of all proportion by the national media and it spiralled out of control.|”

Stringer taught at Field End School, near Ruislip,and resigned after a parent complained that he had shown the film Shakespeare In Love, which includes sex scenes and nudity at his drama club. Police said no crime had been committed.

The teacher then got a job at Canonbury Primary School in Islington but was sacked when news of the complaints made against him at his previous school were made public.

It is understood the alleged sex attack victims came forward after the publicity.

By Brett Gibbons