An elderly Wairarapa man's family is devastated about a "malicious" flier campaign that falsely accuses the man of being a paedophile.
The 81-year-old and his 73-year-old wife, from Carterton, were living in fear, the family told The Dominion Post.
Police said they had never received a complaint about the man and the mail drop was malicious.
Hundreds of the fliers found in two Carterton streets on Sunday read: "Beware, the following man is a confirmed paedophile."
The name of the pensioner was printed in bold type.
One of the man's sons said he believed the leaflet drop indicated a vendetta against the family.
"We are staggered, we are angry, we are hurt and we are dumbfounded. Our father is not in good health and it is just wrong that something like this has been done against him.
"If we could come up with a reason why someone is doing this then we can deal with it, but we have racked our brains and we have nothing. Dad can't even cope with thinking about what has been done."
Carterton Mayor Gary McPhee said the mail campaign was vicious.
"To do something like this to an elderly man with no history is a low blow."
Acting Senior Sergeant Carolyn Watson said the man did not have the convictions alleged and police wanted to speak with whoever created the flier.