A former sub-postmistress from Wells, who was falsely accused of stealing from the Post Office, has expressed her relief after receiving compensation years after her wrongful conviction.

Gail Ward, who ran the Priory Road sub-post office, was convicted in 2007 of false accounting due to the Post Office's faulty Horizon IT system.

Despite her name being cleared by the Court of Appeal in April 2021, Mrs Ward had to wait years for financial compensation,. The money has allowed her and her husband to buy a home, ending a long period of uncertainty.

"I can put it to bed now. Yeah, I'm happy, totally happy, which I haven't been for a long, long time," Mrs Ward told the BBC.

Mrs Ward was one of the "Post Office 39," a group of sub-postmasters and post-mistresses who were wrongfully convicted of offences such as theft, false accounting, and fraud.

This injustice stemmed from flaws in a newly-installed computer system, which erroneously indicated financial discrepancies at Post Offices nationwide. The ramifications of this scandal were profound: careers derailed, contracts terminated, and unjust criminal convictions handed down.

Mrs Ward's ordeal began with a 2007 audit at her Post Office, which reported a shortfall of over £12,000. She was informed that quietly returning the missing funds would absolve her from further action.

Despite borrowing money from friends to cover the deficit, she was still summoned to court on charges of false accounting and theft. Facing the legal system, Mrs Ward was advised that pleading guilty to false accounting would result in the theft charge being dropped and reduce her chances of imprisonment. Consequently, she pleaded guilty to four counts of false accounting and was sentenced to 150 hours of community service.

Her conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal in 2021. The convictions of the "Post Office 39" have been recognised as one of the most extensive miscarriages of justice in UK history.

After years of renting, the couple moved into their new home three weeks ago.

More than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted due to the faulty Horizon system, in what has been called the UK's most widespread miscarriage of justice. The Metropolitan Police is investigating the Post Office over potential fraud offences, and the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry is currently underway.

A Post Office spokesperson said: "We are deeply sorry for the pain which has been suffered by so many people, their families, and friends throughout the Horizon IT scandal. We know an apology from Post Office is not enough on its own and that is why we strongly supported the Government's efforts to speed up the exoneration of people with wrongful convictions."