A couple have been cleared of leaking a stream of scoops and exclusives about Prince William and Harry to journalists in exchange for money.

Former Colour Sergeant John Hardy, 44, was found not guilty of misconduct in a public office while his wife Claire, 41, who was accused of collecting tip-off fees for her husband, was cleared of aiding and abetting him.

Prosecutors had claimed that Mr Hardy was paid more than £23,700 for providing journalist Duncan Larcombe with information on William and Harry and others on 34 occasions while he worked as a Sandhurst Royal Military Academy instructor between February 2006 and October 2008.

Mr and Mrs Hardy, of Millbrook Close, Oswaldtwistle, denied the charges against them throughout a trial at the Old Bailey.

A jury deliberated for 48 hours 39 minutes before clearing them on Friday.

Four senior Sun journalists have also been cleared of paying public officials for scoops, including titbits on the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry.

Chief reporter John Kay, 71, and royal editor Larcombe, 39, were found not guilty of wrongdoing over their contact with two military sources following a trial.

The Sun’s executive editor Fergus Shanahan, 60, and deputy editor Geoff Webster, 55, were also cleared over allegations that they signed off payments.

Kay, of Golders Green, north London; Larcombe, of Aylesford, Kent; Webster, of Goudhurst, Kent; Shanahan, of Felsted, Essex all denied the charges against them.