A Spaniard has won £1,360 compensation after an employment tribunal ruled he was sacked from his job on the railways because of his accent.

Augustin Darius-Martin, who worked as a train host serving passengers from a refreshment trolley on the route between London and Brighton, had spent only one day working for his new boss, Keith Johnston, before he was dismissed for being unsuitable.

But Mr Darius-Martin, 47, had previously worked for nine months in the job without complaint and he believed he was sacked because of his strong Spanish accent.

He told the Brighton hearing yesterday: "I had received no complaints. I did not believe I was dismissed because of my performance but on the grounds of racial discrimination. I am Spanish and I have a strong accent. This, I believe, is the reason for my dismissal.

"My Spanish accent has not hampered me in my work but I do believe that Mr Johnston was of the opinion that being Spanish did not enable me to carry out my duties."

He claimed he had no problem communicating with customers.

He said: "Everybody understands me."

Mr Darius-Martin, who lives in Lyndhurst Road, Hove, successfully claimed he was a victim of racial discrimination at the Brighton hearing. Mr Johnston failed to appear and the case went ahead in his absence.

The tribunal heard Mr Darius-Martin, who has lived in this country for five years, was originally employed by Connex who later transferred the trolley service to a franchisee, Puccino's.

The company then decided the trolleys should be run by individual agents and Mr Johnston became the agent for the trolley manned by Mr Darius-Martin.

On January 24, his day was disrupted. When he took over the trolley from a colleague at the start of his shift, he was not given the usual stock sheet which would tell him how much he had sold at the end of the day.

Later his train broke down at Gatwick and he had to wait for another train to return to Brighton.

Because of the delays, he had not sold the normal amount of food and drink.

Mr Johnston denied the allegations at an earlier hearing and claimed Mr Darius-Martin was dismissed because the takings did not add up on the one day he worked.

He said in a statement: "At the end of the day I asked him where the missing money was and Mr Darius-Martin could not explain."

After the hearing Mr Darius-Martin, who is now working as a waiter, said he was pleased with the result but he was still angry at being accused of fiddling the takings.

He said: "I was very happy in my job. I feel very frustrated at the way I was treated.

"The money was never the point of bringing the case. I feel I had to clear my name."

Mr Johnston was unavailable for comment.