A WOMAN who was wrongly accused of stealing more than £30,000 from her fiance after his death has claimed legal bosses are in danger of leaving her penniless and losing her home.

Anne Hindle, of Whitecroft View, Baxenden, ended a two-year nightmare when she walked free from Preston Crown Court after the case against her was dropped yesterday.

Now Ms Hindle claims she may have to sell her home in order to pay legal fees amassed during the proceedings.

She says she has lost friends during the case, become a recluse - and has never had the chance to visit her fiance's grave.

The Crown Prosecution Service decided to withdraw a charge of theft after reviewing the case and offered no evidence against Ms Hindle.

But they have refused to comment on the length of time they took to drop the case.

The 68-year-old former Queen's Park Hospital sister did not enter a plea in any court during the proceedings.

The charge related to the estate of John Holden, who Ms Hindle was due to marry in September 1996.

He died of cancer in May the same year, leaving Ms Hindle as joint executor of the will, for which she was to be one of the three beneficiaries.

But Ms Hindle claims she was accused of stealing just over £30,500 from Mr Holden's Halifax building society account and arrested in October 1997. Ms Hindle suffers from serious eye complaints and says she was not allowed to take prescribed medication during her six- hour stay in custody.

She was charged in January last year. Ms Hindle's assets were frozen during the case and says she was denied access to Mr Holden's estate after solicitors applied for an injunction.

Ms Hindle says she made 18 court appearances in 22 months, including one hearing at Liverpool County Court where she was left to represent herself when solicitors withdrew their support.

Following the withdrawal of the charge, Ms Hindle claims she is penniless.

She claims to owe more than £10,000 to two firms of solicitors who withdrew from the case.

And she believes she may have to sell her bungalow to pay the bills and make ends meet.

It is the second time Ms Hindle has fought to clear her name. In 1994, following a 14-year battle, she was awarded £900 for unfair dismissal by an industrial tribunal after she was sacked by the health authority after contracting tuberculosis while working at Queen's Park Hospital in Blackburn.

She said: "I am not the sort of person to bear a grudge against anyone and I hope I can put all of this behind me, but I feel I am owed an apology by the police. "I can understand why the CPS would continue if they thought there was a case but I am so hurt by the total injustice.

"They would not let me rest from the moment John died. Now I might at last have a chance to visit his grave.

"Some friends and former colleagues have just deserted me. I have become a recluse, and all my savings are gone. I may have to sell the house, even though I'm happy here.

"I just want to clear my name, let people know I was never guilty of anything, and thank loyal friends who stuck by me."

A spokesman for the CPS said the prosecutor who handled Ms Hindle's case had no comment to make.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.