A few months ago, my sister made a sexual assault allegation against my partner because apparently he kissed her during the few seconds they were alone together during a visit to us. Her statement and her boyfriends had a lot of holes, and the case was dropped by the police quite quickly with no action taken against my partner.

Since then, we have had harrassment galore and a few nasty rumours and accusations from our neighbours. We live in a pretty small town, and word travels VERY fast.

Now, a facebook group has been created naming my partner and giving his photo, address, and a rape allegation as well as several please from my sister for someone to help her, and expressions of her desire to see us both dead.

The police and facebook have obviously been informed and are doing their jobs admirably, but my partner and I now want to look into what action we can take against my family in a civil case. However, we have no idea what kind of solicitor we should be looking for, or what kind of options we may have available to us. Is there any advice or help you can offer?

Hi, you could phone a solicitor that deals in family law and explain the situation, all threats need to be logged down, time and date etc., print off a copy of the material on facebook as proof. Have the police been in contact with you to keep you updated on their inquiries, if not phone them. This could blow out of hand if not nipped in the bud, as you know people love to gossip. In the yellow pages there is a free phone law advice number, they are good.