A KEBAB shop owner who was accused of taking photos of children on Skegness beach in a viral post says the allegations have "ruined his life".

Ali Bronson, from Coventry, West Mids, found himself at the centre of a social media storm when a picture of him was posted on Facebook last week.

It showed the 26-year-old beside his uncle and his cousin leaning against railings in the Lincolnshire seaside town, but the caption claimed he was a "paedophile".

He initially thought the post, which was reportedly viewed more than 30,000 times before it was taken down, was intended as a joke.

But the businessman soon realised the seriousness of the accusation when he started to read through the abusive comments.

Mr Ali, who denies the allegations, told Lincolnshire Live: “It is not nice being called a paedophile."

He contacted West Midlands Police, who had it removed from social media, but admits he is "struggling to sleep and eat" and refuses to leave the house.

Mr Ali said: “It is affecting my life really badly, I do not want to leave the house.

“I’m just sitting at home, I cannot run my business – I do not want to show my face there.”

He added: “I need to get back out there, I have to clear my name.

“There is no evidence – I could do the same, I could just go to the seaside and take a picture and ruin someone’s life."

Mr Ali was on a family day trip out to the seaside resort on August 7 when he decided to go for a cigarette with his uncle and cousin.

They didn't want to smoke in front of the children so walked away and stood looking out to sea before returning around 10 minutes later, he said.

Mr Ali says he was made aware of the accusations the following day when a friend sent him a screenshot of the post, which at that point already had 20,000 views.

He said he is going to visit his GP due to the stress the ordeal has caused him and is also planning legal action against the accuser.

West Midlands Police confirmed that Mr Ali had reported the incident and it has been filed as "racially aggravated malicious communications".