i have to give a character reference for a dear friend who has been completely set up by a nasty malicious person. Has anyone had to give one before....what sort of thing does one write without going completely overboard and setting them us as some sort of saint

Not for a legal thing, but for a friend who was going to be a childminder. I kept it very simple and straightforward. I said how long I had known her and how I knew her. Explain how sure you are as to her character (honesty etc etc) and give any instances that you may have had to trust her etc. That's all you can do - keep it short, truthful and stick to facts and your assessment of her and why :)

Daisy

I've had to write one.  If you pm me your email address I'll see if I can find it and send it to you.

I used some very key words like honest, trustworthy, with high integrity, and followed these all up by 'in my opinion'.  I wrote about my experiences of that person and kept it quite formal.

I've had to do one before as well, as stated basically extolling your friend's virtues in your opinion, and also depending what you do for a living, you can add whether you believe you are a good judge of character etc.
I didn't have to go to court or anything, but it was for a friend of my husband,and he was really pleased with it.
I don't think I have a copy, but I can remember most of it, if you want any details just pm me!!

I wrote one with CD'ers help when my son was in his bother, I wrote it and if I remember rightly JG proof read it and gave me suggested a couple of amendments.