"nightmare'' -- and yesterday he begged for them to end.

Rev. Vernon Lambe, senior pastor of the First Church of God in Bermuda, said the stories were false.

Police spokeswoman Sgt. Andrea Browne yesterday confirmed the church leader's position: Rev. Lambe had not been arrested, was not a suspect, was not under investigation and had not been questioned. His home had not been searched, and his Mercedes Benz had not been seized.

Those are just some of the rumours that Rev. Lambe and his wife Mrs. Ruth Ann Lambe, both 52, say have tormented them in the weeks since an usher at the North Shore church was arrested on cocaine charges.

Rev. Lambe said the man asked him to visit him at the Police Station and he did. "I feel sorry for that young man, and if he asks me to visit him again, I will,'' he said.

Rev. Lambe, known as one of the Island's most dynamic preachers, said he had never been involved with drugs and probably wouldn't recognise them if they were put in front of him.

But the rumours have been rampant, he said: On Tuesday morning alone, he said, he received 12 calls in quick succession.

"People were asking questions like: How could you do such a thing?'' he said.

"I have had family members who have been harassed. It's been a nightmare ... It's time to stop. The last four weeks of my life have been misery.'' Rev. and Mrs. Lambe said old complaints have resurfaced about how they could afford their large house on Sayle Road in Smith's Parish, or their Mercedes Benz car.

People even complained about the work that was done around his house, he said: "If I paint then I'm cheap; if I hire someone, then I'm rolling in money.'' But Rev. Lambe said their car and house was their own business. He and his wife were at the point in their lives, he said, "where we feel we are able to do whatever we feel is justifiable and affordable. My business is my business.'' But the rumours have run wildly around their congregation, and spread through the community. One church member told The Royal Gazette : "There's a lot of speculation at this point. I'm praying for him. A lot of people are praying for Rev. Lambe.'' Rev. Lambe said the congregations of the three churches -- the main church on North Shore, and smaller churches on Angle Street in Hamilton and in Somerset -- had been very supportive.

Rev. and Mrs. Lambe said they returned to Bermuda in late June, after a preaching trip to Korea and a church convention in the United States. And they walked straight into a storm of rumours.

"I have heard that we were arrested when we came back from our drug trip,'' Mrs. Lambe said. And one of their children was asked in a shop: "Are you in the same business as Rev. Lambe? How many kilos do you bring in?'' Rev. Lambe, who was awarded an MBE in 1989, said he thought he had served Bermuda well in the 17 years since he returned from the United States. His church was involved in many community outreach programmes, had helped the needy, fed children and helped pay for students' education.