A former petrol station cashier has claimed she was the victim of racist bullying by her boss.

Vasanthal Shanmugam, who was born in India but has lived in England for 20 years, broke down in tears as she told a Brighton employment tribunal she was forced to resign from her job.

Mrs Shanmugam, 51, of Seven Sisters Road, Eastbourne, accused deputy manager Charlotte Orr of treating her differently to colleagues at the filling station at Boship roundabout, near Hailsham, because of her race.

She said Miss Orr referred to her as a "Paki" in front of other staff and greeted her with the words "Hello sari".

When Mrs Shanmugam was being complimented on her perfume, she claimed Miss Orr muttered to herself: "Vas smells like s**t."

Mrs Shanmugam said she resigned in November last year.

She said this was days after Miss Orr had pushed her away while she was complaining about her treatment in a telephone call to a senior manager.

Her husband, who also worked for the firm, resigned as well.

She said: "I was very frightened. I thought she was going to hit me. I left in tears. I picked up my handbag and ran out."

Mrs Shanmugam, who says her complaints were not fairly investigated by the firm, is claiming compensation for constructive dismissal and race discrimination.

Her allegations are denied by her former employers, Total Convenience Stores, which claim she was treated the same as her colleagues and says there was no victimisation.

It says her complaints were taken seriously and the firm tried to resolve the problems.

The company says former work colleagues will tell the tribunal how Mrs Shanmugam was known as a complainer.

Mrs Shanmugam, who worked for the company for 14 months, told the tribunal Miss Orr was friendly to other staff and would often share a joke.

She said: "She deliberately ignored me. If I asked her a question she did not bother to answer. She would not explain anything to me. She told me she did not understand me. She made me cry.

"She told other staff she never liked coloured people. She would say 'Where is the Paki today?'

"Charlotte shouted at me as if I was stupid and I did not understand English. This is very humiliating and I often cried."

Mrs Shanmugam denied she had a chip on her shoulder about her race.

Dilly Bansal, representing the company, told her: "You have taken the view that what happened to you was all because of your colour and your race but it was not."

The hearing continues.