A BBC presenter was sent to Brighton to film a Brazilian samba band - and found only a group of pensioners, a tribunal heard.

Laurie Mayer said the "embarrassing farce" was an example of how his BBC bosses deliberately unsettled him before forcing him out.

He told a tribunal he was harassed out of his job in the South-East Today newsroom after raising concerns about bullying and intimidation.

The final straw came when he was sent to Brighton for an outside broadcast, he told a tribunal yesterday.

He was told a samba band and giant TV screen would be on the beach on the eve of last June's World Cup quarter-final between England and Brazil.

My Mayer, 57, said: "When I arrived there was no giant screen on the beach and no sign of the samba band.

"When the band did finally arrive about ten minutes to air time, I discovered it was not a bona fide Brazilian band but a group of senior citizens in Brighton who perform on percussion instruments more for therapy than music.

"The entire outside broadcast was an unplanned farce for which I was subsequently criticised."

Later that month he was told his six-month contract would not be renewed when it expired in October, he told the tribunal.

Mr Mayer joined the station in April 2001 and said he first spoke to senior manager Laura Ellis about problems in the newsroom the following month.

He said he was especially concerned by the behaviour of assistant editor Davina Reynolds towards younger members of staff at the Tunbridge Wells studios.

He said: "I had seen a number of staff in tears and been told by them their distress had been caused by the way they had been treated and spoken to by Davina Reynolds."

He said Ms Reynolds once told a colleague she was banned from reporting and had "no career prospects in the newsroom".

Mr Mayer also told the tribunal another staff member had been assigned to "endless shifts" working the autocue because Ms Reynolds had taken a dislike to her.

He said many younger, inexperienced colleagues came to him with concerns, which he took to Ms Ellis, the station's head of region.

But he felt nothing was done about his complaints because of the close working relationship between Ms Ellis, Ms Reynolds and managing editor Rod Beards, who had worked together in the Midlands and transferred to Tunbridge Wells as a team.

Mr Mayer was told in April 2002 the station was to bring in a second presenter, a move he saw as "a clear shot across the bows". It was during the first week of this "experiment" that the Brighton fiasco happened, he said.

The day after he was told his contract would not be renewed, he was called into Ms Ellis's office shortly before the evening news bulletin.

He said: "She then dropped a bombshell. Had I seen the viewing figures?

"She said they were 'terrible' and thought I was to blame. She also said there had been some criticism of my style in the BBC.

"I felt shattered and completely undermined. I felt I had been placed in an intolerable position.

"I was much too upset and angry to be able to present the show, which was due on air in a matter of minutes."

Mr Mayer said he estimated a third of the staff complained and the National Union of Journalists, which is backing him, had a "bulging dossier" of examples.

Paul Mclaughlin, representing the union, later gave evidence and said by blowing the whistle Mr Mayer had "lanced the boil" of bullying.

The tribunal heard a series of people had written to the BBC criticising Mr Mayer's style but another had said he was "the best thing about the programme".

The hearing continues.