A tip manager has been sacked after bosses uncovered a tongue-in-cheek Facebook site poking fun at one of its employees.

Bryan Bayram, 25, of Ditchling Road, Brighton, was dismissed as deputy manager at Veolia's Wilson Avenue recycling centre, Brighton, after the discovery.

He said the page was created by an acquaintance, and he and a colleague had only forwarded details of the website page to friends.

But when Veolia bosses caught wind of the page in December, they launched an investigation.

The waste firm concluded the contents of the web page, which suggests the Veolia employee moaned about members of the public, brought the company into disrepute and it sacked Mr Bayram.

His colleagues did not lose his job.

Mr Bayram learnt on Thursday an appeal against his dismissal had been rejected.

He said: I was angry and upset, especially because the appeal panel seemed very understanding and I was expecting to get my job back.

It was just a bit tongue in cheek.

He said he didn t understand why he had been sacked while his colleagues remained in post.

One member of staff a t the depot said: No one took offence.

It was just a bit of fun.

The controversial page is still available on Facebook and is written as if by an employee at the Wilson Avenue site.

The person was not involved in its creation.

The website complains about Veolia bosses, neighbours of the waste site and low wages and attacks the public for being lazy.

A spokeswoman for Veolia said: "It is not appropriate for us to comment on this issue."