A Perthshire subpostmaster has revealed that his marriage broke down and he lost his house after the Post Office scandal.
Chris Dawson previously ran branches in Pitlochry and Kinloch Rannoch.
Alongside about 3,000 branch operators across the UK, he was pursued by the Post Office for alleged theft and fraud.
In 2019, a high court case ruled the Horizon IT system had been at fault.
The scandal has been brought to light again following the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
Speaking to Good Morning Scotland on BBC Radio Scotland on Monday, Mr Dawson said the past 14 years had been “absolute hell on Earth”.
He said: “I had the Post Office in Pitlochry and one in Kinloch Rannoch.
“Attached to the one in Pitlochry was a large and successful toy and gift shop.
Former Perthshire subpostmaster ‘lost businesses and house’ after scandal
“I lost all three businesses. I lost my house, the marriage collapsed and I’ve suffered mental health issues.
“The upset to my then-wife and to my two daughters, who were only eight and 11 at the time, was horrendous.
“Being pointed out in the street, whisper campaigns – it’s hard to put into words.
“What you have to realise is because it’s the Post Office, there (were) reminders every single day you pass a postbox, a Post Office, a postman came to your door and a post van drove past you.
“It was like the mental abuse was 24/7 because you couldn’t go anywhere without thinking about it.”
The UK Government is considering taking action to clear the names of those convicted of wrongdoing.
Mr Dawson – who previously gave evidence to the Post Office IT Horizon Inquiry – says it is a “very welcome statement” but that it is “such a shame” it had taken the drama series to bring it back to prominence.
Although he was never charged, Mr Dawson described being “interrogated” in his own home over the fraud allegations as “humiliating”.
He claims he was told that he would have to pay back £17,500 – but refused.
‘I wasn’t pleading guilty to something I hadn’t done’
He said: “I was offered the deal of plead guilty to the theft and we’ll drop the fraud charges.
“I refused to accept any of it. I wasn’t pleading guilty to something I hadn’t done.
“Eventually they admitted they knew that I hadn’t taken the money but due to the terms of the contract you get made to sign, I was still responsible for it and I was still to pay it back.
“It was humiliating, bullying and intimidation right from the get-go.”
Mr Dawson said he finally received an apology after speaking with Post Office CEO Nick Read in September.
A spokesperson for the Post Office said: “We are acutely aware of the human cost of the scandal and are doing all we can to right the wrongs of the past, as far as that is possible.
“Both Post Office and government are committed to providing full, fair and final compensation for the people affected.
“To date, offers of compensation totalling more than £138 million have been made to around 2,700 postmasters.
“Interim payments continue to be made in cases which have not yet been resolved. We fully share the aims of the current public inquiry, set up to establish what went wrong in the past and the accountability for it.”
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