Will Mellor revisits Post Office scandal in new BBC documentary

One of these people was mother-of-three Stephanie Gibson, a former Post Office clerk from South Pelaw in County Durham.

In 2007, Stephanie – then aged 28 – was charged and taken to court after she was wrongly accused of stealing money from the branch she worked in.

Her court case made the front page of her local paper, alongside her picture.

After an eight-day trial, Stephanie was acquitted and told by a judge she could leave court “without a stain on her character”.

“I should have been happy at that point,” she told Will over a cup of tea in her kitchen.

“I just wanted to go back to a normal life.

“It didn’t work that way.”

That evening, as she put her children to bed, a brick was thrown through her window.

Over the following days paint stripper was poured on her car, she was spat at in the street and ostracised by people in her local community.

Stephanie and her young family moved out of the area almost immediately, fearing for their safety.

As a result, Stephanie’s world narrowed beyond recognition – she became a recluse, only leaving her new house when absolutely necessary.