Kent sub-postmistress used £10K of savings to cover shortfalls

Anu Aron used almost £10,000 of her life savings to cover costs due to a system fault which falsely reported shortfalls

A former Kent sub-postmistress said she used almost £10,000 of her life savings to cover costs due to a system fault which falsely reported shortfalls.

Anu Aron, who ran Speldhurst Post Office, paid her employees out of her own money to balance the books during the Horizon Post Office scandal.

"I wasn't myself at all. No smiles, no laughs - just anxiety," she said.

Fujitsu, who owns the Horizon system, has apologised for the errors in its system.

More than 900 sub-postmasters and postmistresses were prosecuted after faulty software wrongly made it look like money was missing from their branches.

Bosses of the Post Office and technology firm Fujitsu have been questioned by MPs over what has been described as the biggest miscarriage of justice in UK history.

Anu Aron used to run Speldhurst Post Office

Ms Aron, a former midwife, said she purchased the site in 2012 as she wanted a quieter life while remaining at the heart of the community.

But there were shortfalls in the Horizon system of about £500 to £600 every week, she said.

Across four years, she ended up using £10,000 of her own money to ensure the system balanced.

"The stress was making me unhappy and I was anxious," she said.

A customer once left £200 in an envelope to help towards the costs, she added.

Ms Aron was not convicted and is not seeking compensation, but said she was seeking justice for everyone involved in the scandal.

Paul Patterson, the chief executive of Fujitsu, said: "We did have bugs and errors in the system, and we did help the Post Office in their prosecutions of the sub-postmasters.

"For that, we are truly sorry."

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