THE victim of one of the UK’s greatest miscarriages of justice has died just three years after being released from his prison nightmare.

Sean Hodgson spent nearly 30 years behind bars for a murder he did not commit, but was freed in 2009 after advances in forensic science proved his innocence.

At the weekend it emerged that the 61-year-old, from County Durham, had passed away after battling the progressive lung disease emphysema.

In 1982 Mr Hodgson, who grew up in Tow Law, County Durham, was convicted of murdering barmaid Teresa de Simone after apparently confessing to the crime. She was strangled and raped in her Ford Escort, which was parked outside a Southampton pub in 1979.

Mr Hodgson, who suffered from mental illness, proclaimed his innocence throughout his incarceration which prevented him from being paroled.

When DNA evidence proved he was not guilty the conviction was quashed at London's Court of Appeal in March 2009 and he was released.

Police went on to name Ms De Simone's killer as David Lace, who took his own life in 1988.

Julian Young, the solicitor who fought for Mr Hodgson’s freedom, described his death as sad.

He said: “That he was able to spend his last years in freedom was incredibly valuable, thank goodness there is no death penalty for murder.

“It was a privilege to work on his appeal.

“When he smiled it was a wonderful, peaceful and genuine smile, when he was happy he showed you with that smile.”

Mr Hodgson had spoken to The Northern Echo about how he struggled to adapt to life on the outside, despite winning £1m compensation, and that he had turned to drink after winning freedom.

Since his 2009 release he served further jail terms for drink-driving and sexual assault convictions.

But Mr Young said there had been moments of peace and pleasure in his life.

Soon after Mr Hodgson’s release, his solicitor wrote to Sunderland football club and they were invited to watch the team play at West Ham where he met then-chairman Niall Quinn and was presented with a signed shirt.

Mr Young said: “He was a bit nervous, he’d not been around 30,000 people in 30 years.

“On the train back to his hostel Sunderland supporters recognized him and said ‘don’t worry, we’ll help him’.

“They really protected him, he rang me to say he’d got back safely. They were charming and he really enjoyed that.”

When he returned to the North-East, Mr Hodgson bought a bungalow near Crook, County Durham, and enjoyed looking after animals, including his pet Jack Russell, Archie.

Mr Young said: “He was institutionalised because he had been in custody a long time, dealing with 21st century England was always going to be a problem.

“Fortunately, he had a family and friends who helped and lawyers assisted the best they could.”