A former sub-postmaster found guilty of bludgeoning his postmistress wife to death as she slept in North Yorkshire has applied to launch a fresh appeal against his murder conviction.

Robin Garbutt was jailed for life in April 2011 and ordered to serve a minimum of 20 years behind bars for killing 40-year-old Diana Garbutt.

At his trial, jurors at Teesside Crown Court heard that he battered Diana to death in their bedroom before opening their post office and shop in the village of Melsonby, near Richmond.

Garbutt claimed he and his wife were a victim of an armed robbery but the prosecution’s case, which involved using evidence from the Horizon IT system and the Post Office, helped to convict him.

Garbutt, then 45, claimed a man with a gun had told him: "Don't do anything stupid - we've got your wife", but the jury rejected his story.

The jury of eight men and four women convicted him on a ten-two majority, after almost 13 hours of deliberations.

Garbutt’s solicitor, Martin Rackstraw from the law firm Russell-Cooke, said: “We believe that fresh evidence and other important developments that have come to light since the original trial, now mean that Mr Garbutt’s conviction is not safe.”

Diana GarbuttDiana Garbutt (Image: North Yorkshire Police) When sentencing Garbutt, the trial judge, Mr Justice Openshaw, said his version of events was a “ludicrous story from beginning to end”.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission has confirmed that lawyers on behalf of Garbutt have applied for his case to be sent back to the Court of Appeal.

He lost his last appeal in 2012 as three judges concluded his conviction was safe.