A man accused of taking part in a rail ticket scam lasting more than two years claimed he was "stitched up" by his brother and his former wife

Horsham station manager Gareth Leslie was investigated by Connex South Central after his brother David was accused of using an invalid photocard to buy vastly reduced season tickets.

Mr Leslie, 32, brought a case for unfair dismissal against the rail company after he claimed he was told to resign or be sacked.

He recorded a conversation with Glenn Charles, commercial director of Connex, who suggested he would be dismissed unless he resigned, a tribunal heard.

Mr Leslie, of Gordon Road, Hailsham, denied helping his brother David, 29, to obtain fraudulent tickets which saved him hundreds of pounds.

He described the relationship between himself and his adopted brother as "terrible" after he discovered David was having an affair with his wife, Lynn.

David Leslie had moved in with his brother, who lived with Lynn and their young daughter, now seven, after a spell in jail for fraud offences, the tribunal at St James House, Brighton, heard.

But David and Lynn began a relationship and Gareth Leslie moved out of the family home.

He said: "The rift between myself, my brother and Lynn was very stressful, a very nasty time for all of us.

"My brother had got into trouble before. He had had a bad time and I had hoped he could change. But he was always a person who, if he could blame someone else to get himself off, he would."

Mr Leslie also said he and his wife were involved in a custody battle and she had vowed to make things difficult for him. He said she had already made false charges of harassment against him in a bid to scupper his career.

It was Lynn Belmore and David Leslie who first gave evidence against Gareth Leslie, the tribunal heard.

But Oliver Campbell, representing Connex, said both Miss Belmore and David Leslie gave corroborating accounts without apparently conferring.

He said the evidence to show Gareth Leslie had been involved in the scam was overwhelming.

Mr Leslie said after the tribunal he had taken both a demotion and a pay cut in his new job with South West trains and faced an hour and a half-long commute every day.

A decision is expected within four weeks.