The former director of a group of children's homes told an employment tribunal she regretted telling a care worker she fancied him.

Louise Collins admitted she told Ian Harrington she was attracted to him but she denied making sexual advances.

Mr Harrington, 30, of Adelaide Square, Shoreham, is claiming compensation for sexual discrimination at the Brighton tribunal.

He claims he was unfairly sacked in February last year from his job with Downlands Children's Homes, a company which ran a group of homes in Worthing until it went into liquidation last June.

Mr Harrington claimed he was dismissed after spurning his boss's advances.

He says he was sacked after a series of untrue allegations were made about his work and he accused Mrs Collins of failing to properly investigate the claims because he had rejected her.

Mrs Collins told the second day of the hearing: "I said to him I fancied him. I told him I thought he was good looking.

"On reflection it was not a good thing to do. It was at the beginning of his employment and I did not really know him."

Mrs Collins denied sexually harassing Mr Harrington or treating him unfairly when he refused her request for a relationship.

She admitted kissing him at work but denied it was unprofessional and embarrassed the children because, she claimed, she greeted many staff in the same way.

She also admitted sitting on his lap during a camping holiday but said it was just "everyday fun".

She said he was sacked for gross misconduct following a series of complaints about his work.

She said: "In the last four to six weeks of his employment he became a problem for the company."

The first complaint, that he had injured a boy's thumb, was unsubstantiated.

But she made the decision to sack him after hearing he had allegedly kissed a boy on the lips while they both had chocolate in their mouths and also that he had sworn in front of a child.

Mr Harrington denied the allegations against him and said the accusations were trumped-up because he had spurned his boss.

He said: "It was quite a daunting thing to ask your boss to stop harassing you and asking you out and telling you that you are good looking in front of others."

He said she failed to promote him because he rejected her and if he had slept with her, he would have been given a more senior position.

He said: "I could have acted unprofessionally and slept my way to promotion."

Mrs Collins replied: "It was never offered."

The tribunal reserved its decision, which will be announced at a later date.