An office worker broke down in tears as she recalled how she was sacked five days after she gave birth to a child, which died seconds later.

Danielle Pellett, an administration clerk, is claiming compensation at an employment tribunal for sexual discrimination and unfair dismissal from William Peters and Sons, an office equipment company in Lewes.

The firm has denied treating her unfairly.

It claims her dismissal had no connection with her pregnancy but was because of her absence record.

The company says she was dismissed for failing to keep the office informed when she was off sick and the reason for her absence.

Ms Pellett, 22, of Chyngton Road, Seaford, cried as she told the tribunal she was dismissed in March last year, five days after the death of her son, Oliver, who was born four months premature.

She told the Brighton hearing she went into labour and was rushed to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

She said: "In the early hours of the morning, my baby was born alive but died within a few seconds of birth."

She said in the days following the loss of her baby, she had been in a distressed state.

She said: "I had to return to the hospital to give him a cuddle and to say goodbye. I also had to arrange the funeral.

"I have not received any letter or phone call expressing sympathy for my bereavement from anyone at the company.

"Being dismissed after losing my baby, and the way I had been treated, caused me immense distress added to the obvious distress caused by the loss of my child."

Ms Pellett, who started work for the company in 1999, told the hearing how she had a miscarriage in February 2000 after being pregnant for three months.

Despite spending eight days in hospital she returned to work after two weeks instead of taking three weeks off as advised by her doctor.

She later contracted an infection and needed more time off work.

In July 2000, she was given a verbal warning because of her absence record.

When she became pregnant again in September 2000, she began experiencing medical problems.

She claimed on one occasion she was accused of theft by the managing director for using the telephone to call her doctor when she started bleeding.

In November 2000, she was suffering from an infection of the womb, bleeding and a urine infection.

She said she was shocked and distressed to receive a final written warning in December 2000 because of her absence while she was still off sick.

She said the company had not treated her well.

She claimed her bosses "huffed and puffed" when she had to go to hospital check-ups.

She said she was forced to take holiday when she needed to attend medical appointments and she was not paid for time she took off sick.

Ms Pellett claimed that during her pregnancy, she had been made to lift heavy boxes in the warehouse and to run up and down steep stairs.

During cross-examination, the company representative, David Peters, was warned by the tribunal about the aggressive manner in which he was questioning Ms Pellett.

She denied failing to keep the company informed of when and why she was ill.

Her former manager, Clive Wilkinson, said Ms Pellett had not given him her home telephone number. He said he gave her a verbal warning because her absences were having an effect on the efficient running of the business.

He said: "She had a very important position in the company. In her absence, her work would fall on others' shoulders.

"It was beginning to get to the stage where it was getting beyond the realms where we could cope with it. I felt enough was enough."

The hearing was adjourned until April.