Mr Bates v The Post Office: Whitby man speaks of ordeal over Horizon scandal

Chris Trousdale was sub postmaster at Lealholm Post Office at the time of the Horizon scandal 20 years ago, which saw more than 700 branch managers convicted after faulty Fujitsu accounting software made it look like money was missing from their stores.

Widely seen as one of the biggest ever miscarriages of justice, the scandal has been thrust into the public eye in the four-part show which has left viewers disgusted.

He said the Post Office prosecuted him for false accounting, to the sum of around £7,000, and said if he didn’t plead guilty they would add a theft charge, move to the crown court and leave him facing seven years in prison.

Chris, 41, who now works at Jetprint, said his conviction was one of the first overturned in December 2020.

He said: "We were told there was nothing wrong with the computers and that we were the only ones having the issues and thought ‘is someone stealing?’ or ‘am I doing something wrong?’”

“We demanded forensics looked at it and they refused to give us evidence and they stripped us of all the paperwork so we had nothing to defend ourselves with.

"Our lives were destroyed and livelihoods disappeared overnight.”

The TV series shows how the accused sub post masters fight back when rallied together by sub postmaster Alan Bates – and Chris said when the staff walked into the village hall for real, he realised there were hundreds involved.

"I was one of the youngest,” said Chris, who lives in Lealholm with wife Joanne and sons Isaac and Peter.

“Some took it as a last job before retirement and you’re thinking ‘hang on, this isn’t a room full of criminals’.”

Chris praised the support of villagers who knew he had done nothing wrong.

"I was very lucky, a bit like Jo Hamilton (whose story was featured on the show), most of the villagers wrote to say ‘there’s no way he has done this’.

"I’ve still got a folder full of letters from people saying this is wrong.

"We were up against the Post Office and it was difficult to explain to people how much power they had – they were the purported victim.”

So how have people reacted since the story has been aired on TV?

"People watched the first episode live and had to binge watch the other three, and the documentary, as they were aghast,” he said.

"The story has been bubbling around and we’ve been campaigning for years, it’s technical and difficult to understand but the drama has given the human angle and what we’ve been through.

"One hundred people have come forward since the drama who were too afraid or ashamed to come forward in the past – it’s empowered people and I thank ITV for that.”

He has been “taken aback” by how the producer managed to condense 20 years of story and all its technical elements into just four hours of TV.

Paula Vennells, who was CEO when hundreds of Post Office operators were prosecuted, has today said she will hand back her CBE.