Cliff Richard fans bid to get 1992 single 'I Still Believe In You' to number one in wake of sex abuse claim

The singer's home was raided by police after a year-long investigation

Cliff Richard, here seen on the set of This Morning last November (Rex Features)

Fans of Sir Cliff Richard are campaigning to get his 1992 ballad “I Still Believe In You” to the top of the charts as he faces sex abuse allegations.

The plan has been hatched on social media, with hundreds of supporters pledging to buy the single between 18 and 22 August. Streaming the song will also count towards the chart.

A message on the Cliff Richard Radio Facebook page reads “No excuses, if you love Cliff, then make it your goal to show everyone how proud we are of him. Let’s fight back for Cliff”.

A change.org petition has also been set up by the group demanding a full public enquiry into the actions of South Yorkshire Police and the BBC. “The treatment of Sir Cliff is deplorable,” says a message from Linda Mayne.

Richard, 73, denies claims he sexually assaulted an underage boy at an evangelist rally in Sheffield in 1985.

Police raided the singer’s Berkshire home last week after it was revealed that he had been under investigation for more than a year, since Jimmy Savile’s sex crimes were exposed.

The lyrics to “I Still Believe In You” include lines such as “I believe in all my heart and soul, this dream we share is true, and I still believe in you”.

Devoted fan Sue Dungworth, who runs his fan club in Lincolnshire and East Yorks, told The Mirror that seeing the song high in the charts would “reinforce that his real fans are behind him and be a statement to the rest of the world”.

On its original release, “I Still Believe In You” spent six weeks in the charts and reached number seven.