A FORMER children's home manager was yesterday jailed for 15 years for sexually abusing youngsters in his care over a period spanning more than two decades.

In what has become Scotland's biggest care-home sexual abuse scandal, 69-year-old David Murphy, of Dallas Court, Troon, pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow to 14 counts of lewd and libidinous conduct and 16 counts of sodomy.

He abused 18 victims over a 25-year period while he worked at St Margaret's Children's Home in Elie, Fife, and later at Linnwood Hall Residential School in Leven.

And an investigation by The Herald has revealed that Murphy also worked in children's homes in Glasgow, Speyside, and Edinburgh before moving to Fife.

Lord Hardie told Murphy: ''Your victims were children who required help, but instead you abused your position of trust to inflict damage on them over a period between 1960 and 1986.

''The damage you have done to these people and their pain and suffering cannot be overstated.''

Pleading for leniency, Mark Stewart, defence advocate, told the court that his client feared he would die behind bars.

He said: ''Whatever the jail term imposed, it will in fact be a life sentence because of his age and ill-health.''

Many of his victims and their relatives wept with relief as Murphy was led to the cells, while others waved as he left the court.

Jamie Morris, 48, one of the victims who sparked the police inquiry which led to Murphy's arrest, had originally tried to blow the whistle on the care worker in 1973. Complaints from a group of boys were passed to police, but the procurator-fiscal decided not to

proceed.

Mr Morris, a father-of-two and grandfather, who now lives in St Helens, Merseyside, expressed relief that Murphy had been jailed.

He said: ''Seeing Murphy finally going to jail draws this chapter to an end and helps our healing. But our nightmares continue.

''I was abused from the age of seven to the age of 15, and all of our lives have been ruined by Murphy.

''I decided to go to the police in 1999 because I felt I was now strong enough and that I would be believed.

''Because of what he did to us, it is difficult to sustain a lasting relationship with a partner and that is why I am now divorced.

''Most victims' lives are wrecked because of the abuse they suffered as innocent

children.''

The sentence was welcomed by social work officials at Fife Council, which has already launched an independent inquiry.

Mike Sawyer, head of social work with Fife Council, said: ''This has been a long and painful experience for Murphy's victims.

''We hope today's sentencing will mark a point that will allow them to begin to move forward from the past.''

He added: ''The fact that Mr Murphy has been sentenced to 15 years in prison reflects the horrific scale of his offences.''

Ceri Williams, a local lawyer who is heading the inquiry with Anne Black, a social work expert, said the sentence was appropriate, given the nature of Murphy's crimes.

''I can only reiterate the kind of damage that's caused by this.

''It is a life sentence for the victims.''

He said letters had already been sent to all of those who made allegations against Murphy, inviting them to give

evidence to the inquiry.

While the inquiry will centre on Murphy's time at the Fife homes, he promised none of his victims would be turned away.

He added that he hoped their side of the story would now be heard and assured that the investigation would be carried out as quickly as possible.

The inquiry will review care practices and policies during the period of abuse, examine the recruitment procedures of that time, and determine whether any additional safeguards should be put in place.