A barmaid who lost her job when she became ill during pregnancy has won £3,733 compensation.

Gretchen Walker was admitted to hospital twice because of severe vomiting.

But when she tried to return to work at the Preston Brewery Tap pub in Brighton she was told she was no longer needed.

Ms Walker, of Ladysmith Road, Brighton, whose baby daughter was born last November, successfully made a claim for sexual discrimination at an employment tribunal.

She claimed she was sacked because she was pregnant.

The tribunal heard she worked part-time at the pub in Preston Road from September 2000 until April last year, when she fell ill.

When she contacted the pub five weeks later the manager told her she no longer had a job.

She said: "I could not believe it. I was shocked.

"I was very upset at the way I was treated. I felt I was considered a liability because of my pregnancy and sickness."

Pub owner Denise Thatcher denied discriminating against Ms Walker. She said there were major changes in the staffing arrangements at the pub.

A full-time bar worker was employed and there was no longer work for Ms Walker.

Mrs Thatcher said Ms Walker had failed to keep in contact with the pub while she was ill and she believed the barmaid had left of her own choice.

The tribunal ruled Ms Walker, who was represented by the Citizens Advice Bureau at the hearing, had been dismissed for a pregnancy-related absence.