A train conductor, sacked after bosses suspected he was faking illness, has won his claim for compensation at an employment tribunal.

Kevin Turner, 40, from Bexhill, successfully claimed he was unfairly dismissed by Connex South Eastern.

The company had denied the allegation but during the hearing, the firm conceded it followed unfair procedure when Mr Turner was sacked on the grounds of ill-health.

The tribunal heard Mr Turner suffered a whiplash injury after an incident at Doleham Station, near Rye, only five days after he started work for the company in September 1998.

He claimed he was hit by a brick, or some sort of missile, as he stood by an open train window.

But the company was suspicious about the markings on his face.

It suspected Mr Turner was injured when he lent out of the window as the train passed under a bridge at the station.

The tribunal heard all staff are warned during training of the potential hazard caused by the close proximity of the bridge.

Mr Turner, who was based at Hastings Station, needed time off and when he returned to work, he was unable to do the job of a conductor.Instead, he was found work checking tickets at the platform barrier.

Nearly a year later, when he was off work again, two company managers visited his home and believed he was decorating as he was wearing paint-spattered clothes.

But Mr Turner claimed he was only painting a dolls' house.

A sick note from his GP stated he was unfit for any work for six months and he was dismissed in August last year on the grounds of his ill-health.

Maurice Parker, health, welfare and pensions manager, said: "I doubted the severity of his injury. I did not think he was as disabled as he made out."

Mr Parker admitted to the tribunal he did not treat the dismissal as an ill-health termination because he did not believe Mr Turner's medical condition meant he could not return to work.

Mr Turner, who served in the Army for 14 years, told the hearing he would have been well enough to return to work as a conductor if Connex had given him more time to recover from his injuries.

He said the company should have organised more detailed medical checks to discover the extent of his injuries.

After the hearing, Mr Turner, who is now working as a street cleaner, said he was pleased at the outcome.

He said he was distressed when he was sacked without a hearing and falsely accused of faking his injuries.

He said: "I would have been happy to go back to work."

The amount of compensation will be decided on October 31.