INNOCENT BEHIND BARS

Britain's biggest miscarriages of justice have seen lives ruined irreparably

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It's something we don't ever think would happen to us, a nightmare we only read about in the news. But just imagine if one day, the police turned up at your door to arrest you for a crime you didn't commit. The consequences - emotional, financial, psychological, social - could be devastating, not just for you, but also your loved ones.

Sadly, there have been too many instances of miscarriages of justice, notably including the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses in the Post Office scandal. But while many are overturned - as with the Guildford Four and Birmingham Six, who were all wrongly convicted of bombings in the 70s - at what cost? Lives have been ruined, wasted, even lost, and ultimately, victims are left without justice. Woman's Own delves deeper, taking a look at three cases of wrongful imprisonment...

The Post Office Horizon scandal

The TV drama series Mr Bates vs The Post Office shone a light on one of Britain's biggest injustices, which saw hundreds of sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses across the UK wrongly accused of stealing - a result of a faulty accounting system.