A coffee shop boss accused of dumping waste in the street has walked free from court after council staff botched an investigation.

Brighton and Hove City Council dropped its case against Costa Coffee manager Carmen Kendall after magistrates ruled evidence collected by council investigators was unsafe.

Mrs Kendall had stood trial accused of fly-tipping by illegally ditching bags of trade waste in the street.

And speaking after the case Mrs Kendall said her life had been thrown into turmoil since she was ordered to appear in court six months ago.

The 46-year-old, who had denied the charges, said the stress was so bad she has been off on sick leave from her job at Costa Coffee in Bond Street, Brighton, for the past two months.

She said: "My husband and I were upset so much we could not sleep. I had to take sleeping pills every day.

"I didn't do anything wrong but they have made me suffer for six months. They haven't even apologised to me."

Mrs Kendall's employer had agreed to pay her legal fees, which totalled £18,000, but these will now be met by the council.

Her husband, Ian, said he feared other business people in the city, particularly sole traders, were being forced to plead guilty to fly-tipping offences.

He said: "Even if they're innocent they can't afford to fight. It's just not fair."

The couple's MP in Hove, Celia Barlow, backed Mrs Kendall and contacted the council to argue her case.

She said: "Fly-tipping is a problem but in this case we felt she was being unfairly prosecuted. We didn't believe she was doing anything malicious and we did not believe the council should prosecute someone who is in the scheme of things a minor employee rather than their company."

Brighton Magistrates' Court rejected a central piece of evidence based on an interview with Mrs Kendall conducted by council enforcement officers Michael Logue and Neil Cozzi.

Mrs Kendall's defence solicitor, Martin Cray, argued that officers had breached a code of practice when they interviewed her under caution about the allegations.

He said it was unfair that they did not offer Mrs Kendall, a native Cantonese speaker, an interpreter and said the court could not rely on a typed report of the interview produced by the officers as the original notes were not available and they were not verbatim in any case.

Mr Logue told the court he had offered Mrs Kendall the chance to seek legal advice and had showed her the notes from the interview, but these claims were both denied by Mrs Kendall.

Mrs Kendall told the court she had not understood what was happening during the interview and had become so distressed she had vomited.

Dr Howard Carter, the presiding magistrate, said he was concerned the interview had been held in a public place where other staff members were able to interrupt.

He said: "The quality of the interview was severely impaired."

Jan Jonker, the head of strategy in the council's city services department, said the council has an excellent track record in successfully prosecuting businesses and individuals who litter the streets.

He said: "After every case we review our procedures, and in the review of this case we will pay close attention to the ruling made by the magistrates."