A PRISON officer accused of sending naked photos and a series of sexually-charged letters to an armed robber has been cleared of having a physical relationship with him.

Barbara Dyer, 26, stood accused of having a fling with Saul Powell, who was serving a 17-year sentence at the prison where she worked.

A jury heard she also sent him a pair of knickers, which she denied, claiming she did not know how they got into his cell.

It was alleged Dyer began the relationship with 25-year-old Powell in February 2017, during the three-and-a-half weeks she worked at HMP Winchester, continuing until April 2017.

But the jury delivered a not guilty verdict, clearing Dyer of one count of misconduct in a public office.

Defence barrister Daniel Chadwick had told Winchester Crown Court that Dyer, from Bournemouth, was a fantasist, and her letters simply resembled entries from a teenager’s diary.

Appealing to the jury during the six-day trial, he said: “The defence’s case is that Miss Dyer never kissed Mr Powell, not in prison.

“She never did anything inappropriate with Powell while in prison. The kissing is fantasy – not fact.”

He said there were other things Miss Dyer fantasised about, including marrying the prisoner and having children.

He said: “Miss Dyer writes the following: ‘In nine years’ time we will still have time to have children.’

“[She writes] I found my grandmother’s engagement ring – it brought a tear to me and my father’s eye.”

Dyer told Powell, who was jailed for targeting escorts in a robbery attempt, she was “waiting for him” and “loved him” in each of her letters. She also said she was considering getting his initials tattooed on her neck.