SURVIVORS of physical, sexual and psychological abuse at a former children’s home near Helensburgh have lost a test case for compensation from the charity which ran the facility.

Legal action was taken against the Sailors' Society, a Christian charity supporting the families of men working at sea, following a BBC Disclosure documentary in 2018 which revealed more than a dozen people were allegedly abused by staff at the Lagarie Children’s Home in Rhu.

From 1949 up until the home's closure in 1982, hundreds of children were sent to live at Lagarie. Several told the BBC investigation programme that they had been victims of serious and sustained sexual abuse.

Representatives for the Sailors' Society argued that a fair hearing of the claims was not possible because the principal alleged abusers, William and Mary Barrie, were dead and could not answer the allegations.

READ MORE: BBC probe uncovers allegations of abuse at children's home near Helensburgh

The compensation actions were dismissed by Lady Carmichael at the Court of Session, who said that the absence of evidence from the alleged abusers "is a fundamental barrier to a fair hearing".

In September 2018, the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry announced that Lagarie was one of three former children's homes in Helensburgh and Lomond to be investigated as part of its probe into historic allegations of abuse across the country.

St Andrew's School in Shandon and the Cardross Park Assessment Centre were also part of a list of 17 institutions across Scotland which the inquiry team said it would be "investigating as part of its ongoing work".

A spokesperson for the Sailors' Society - which is no longer involved in running any children's homes - told the Advertiser that the current charity is "a very different organisation, and nobody involved in these historic events is connected in any way with the organisation now".

READ MORE: Lagarie residents to sue Sailors' Society over abuse claims

The spokesperson said: "This has been a very difficult process for everyone involved and this judgement is understandably disappointing for survivors.

"We have tried hard to manage a very complex and distressing situation involving events that occurred up to 60 or more years ago.

"We deeply regret that any child was abused at Lagarie and we have apologised unreservedly for any abuse that was suffered by children who were in the care of the British Sailors' Society (Scotland) at that time.

"In recent years we have worked hard to respond as fully as we can. We have met with survivors, kept up contact with survivors who have wanted contact with us, financed counselling, asked police to reopen their investigations and fully cooperated with the police and the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry."