It must have crossed my dad's mind that I could have been stealing from him

In an M.E.N. exclusive, father and son tell Helena Vesty about their 16-year ordeal thanks to the Post Office Horizon scandal

- Helena Vesty

HEATON Moor Post Office has been run by one family for decades. The business is a pillar of the community in the Stockport suburb, with father Anthony Holbert passing the shop down to his son Jamie.

Like many in their position, despite all their hard work and commitment, they were sucked into a scandal that has shocked the nation following the airing of ITV's Mr Bates vs The Post Office.

They have now spoken about how the Horizon Post Office saga put an unthinkable strain on their beloved business - as well as their family.

"Thinking back, when I started working aged 17 and we had all these losses that would have been going on for so long," Jamie, now 37, told the M.E.N. "It must have even crossed my dad's mind that I could have been stealing from him, although never said anything like that.

"It's horrible to think families could be forced to believe that about each other."

Faulty accounting system Horizon, installed by IT giant Fujitsu, led to the conviction of more than 700 Post Office branch managers and sub-postmasters. Some 130 people affected by the scandal have come forward since the drama was aired.

Ministers are under pressure to address the devastating hurt suffered by hundreds of sub-postmasters, as public anger over the stories of scores of dedicated workers saw former Post Office boss Paula Vennells hand back her CBE. Anthony Holbert, 68, first took over at Heaton Moor Post Office in 1994. He ended up losing 'more than £20,000, he says, in more than two decades of running the business. He says he was one of the lucky ones.