'Coronation Street' actor Michael Le Vell has been found not guilty of child sex offences including rape at his trial in Manchester.

Mr. Le Vell, 48 - on trial under his real name Michael Turner - breathed out and said "thank you" as the jury's verdict was announced.

Reporter Nick Martin, who was in the courtroom, said the soap star was taken from the dock moments after the verdict after one of his friends told security guards "get him out".

Mr. Le Vell, who plays mechanic Kevin Webster in the ITV show, had denied 12 child sex abuse charges, including five of rape.

The eight female and four male jurors were told they must decide if the alleged victim was telling the truth or set out to "quite literally destroy the life" of the actor.

Surrounded by supporters outside court, Mr. Le Vell thanked his legal team and said "I might go and have a drink now."

A spokeswoman for Coronation Street says they are "looking forward to meeting with Michael to discuss his return to the programme."

During the eight day trial the "demons" in Mr. Le Vell's private life were laid bare - his alcoholism and womanising while his wife battled breast cancer.

The court heard of his "dark secret" that he had enjoyed a string of one-night stands behind the back of his wife of 25 years, Janette Beverley. And he had abandoned the family home to get drunk in the pub each night.

But while Le Vell might be described as a "weak, stupid and drunk man" and a "bad husband", he was not a child rapist, the jury was told.

It was a "strange case of child rape" without any DNA evidence or injuries to the alleged victim, who claimed she had been raped and abused while a young girl, his legal team said.

Le Vell was initially arrested on September 30, 2011 but the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to proceed with the case.

But after a review of the evidence following fresh allegations by the girl, Le Vell was re-arrested and charged in February 2013.

He first joined Coronation Street in 1983 and quickly endeared himself to fans, who have followed the trials and tribulations of Kevin, from his days as Brian Tilsley's apprentice mechanic through to his stormy marriage to Sally, played by Sally Dynevor.

He did not appear in any episodes of the soap during the legal proceedings.