A former employee at the Palace Pier, Brighton, has won a claim for unfair dismissal after he was sacked for gross misconduct.

Gavin Todd, 34, of Buckingham Road, Brighton, was a games manager on the pier when he was asked to leave in June this year.

He appealed against the decision, claiming he had taken home £50 belonging to the pier by mistake and so the penalty of dismissal was disproportionate.

He said there had been no proper investigation and the appeal decision had been pre-judged. An advertisement for his job appeared in The Argus before he was told the result.

The Brighton Marine Palace and Pier Company claimed this had been a result of the appeals chairman having trouble with his email while on holiday.

A tribunal heard that in May this year Todd had put £50 from the sale of a cuddly yellow toy bear in his back pocket and not handed it to the cashier.

There had been a recent management decision that no toys should be sold if they were not won because the money was too hard to account for.

Mr Todd said he had not had time inform the worker who authorised the sale.

He said: "I was rushed off my feet that day and put the money in my back pocket and forgot about it.

"The next day I wore a different suit and left it in the pocket of the other suit."

The tribunal unanimously agreed the dismissal had been unfair but ruled Mr Todd should forfeit 60 per cent of any contribution decided upon.