A FORMER subpostmistress who had her fraud conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal today has urged others affected by the Horizon scandal to come forward.

Kathleen Crane, 68, wept as judges ruled there was “no doubt” that the mother-of-two’s conviction was unsafe, adding that she had been “kept in ignorance” of flaws in the Post Office’s computerised accounting system.

She was one of hundreds of postmasters who were convicted after the defective system produced figures suggesting that money was missing from their branches.

In 2010, she was sentenced to a 12-month community order and ordered to repay more than £18,000 that she had been accused of taking from her branch in Eastbourne, East Sussex.

Lord Justice Holroyde said: “We have no doubt that her prosecution was an abuse of process.

“Nor do we have any doubt that her conviction is unsafe.

“No leap of imagination is needed to understand the anxiety and fear which Mrs Crane and her late husband, who is since sadly deceased, and their two daughters must have experienced.”

He added: “We are satisfied that the respondent’s [the Post Office] concession is right and properly made.

“This is indeed a Horizon case in which the reliability of the Horizon data was essential for the prosecution.

“No relevant investigation was carried out and no disclosure was made of the known concerns about Horizon.

“She [Ms Crane] pleaded guilty because she and those representing her had been kept in ignorance.”

Speaking to ITV outside the Royal Courts of Justice following the decision, Ms Crane said her “horrible” experience was “over now” and urged other victims of the scandal to make themselves known, saying: “If you’re innocent, you should have your conviction quashed.”

Her daughter, Katy Crane, who joined her mother in court alongside her sister Lucy Crane, said: “I actually don’t know how [the Post Office bosses] sleep at night.

“I absolutely think someone should serve some jail time. I think somebody needs to be held to account.”

Ms Crane’s case is the first of many expected to reach the Court of Appeal as a result of the Post Office’s own case review, with the company contacting her last June to say it believed there had been a miscarriage of justice.

With the support of her daughter Katy, Ms Crane lodged an appeal on January 10 this year, which the Post Office did not contest.