A shop assistant who suffers from a bad back has lost her claim for compensation after she was sacked for taking time off work.

Leia Guntley, 20, claimed she was discriminated against on the grounds of her disability by Boots the Chemist.

But an employment tribunal dismissed her case after hearing evidence over two days.

The tribunal ruled Ms Guntley, of Langley Green, Crawley, had failed to prove her claim.

Ms Guntley, who was injured in a car accident in 1998, went off sick two months after starting work at the company's Gatwick store.

When she returned to work 14 weeks later she was sacked the following day because of her poor attendance record.

She told the hearing on Tuesday she could not help being ill and was given no warning her job was at risk before being dismissed in July 2001.

She said: "I thought I was capable of performing all the normal tasks expected of a shop assistant."

The company denied treating her unfairly.

The tribunal was told the store managers had not been informed about the back injury when Ms Guntley applied for the job.

When she was off sick her managers found it difficult to contact her to find out when she was returning and she failed to provide all the necessary sick notes on time.

Christie Britland, her team leader, said she had been unaware Ms Guntley had a long-term back problem as she had never indicated any problems at work.

The store had been informed she was off work with a blood disorder.

Ms Britland said: "It was usually very difficult to get hold of her when she did not turn up."