Thalidomide victim 'ordered to go bowling'

A Thalidomide victim was ordered to go 10-pin bowling with colleagues even though she could not bowl because of her disability, a tribunal has heard.

Sue Foss, a £30,000-a-year sales manager for Dore, a specialist in treating children with dyslexia and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, said she was bullied into going to the alley twice despite the fact that her fingers did not fit into the balls. She was even awarded the title of "Megaflop" by colleagues after knocking down the fewest pins.

The 46-year-old, from Westfield, East Sussex, says the constant comments about the size of her breasts and her disability sent her into a fit of depression and ill health.



Mrs Foss, who has three fingers on her left hand shaped like a claw and one-inch stumps on her right, said that despite her disability she was ordered to go on the team-building day.

She said: "When there was a team-building exercise and it was being held at a bowling alley, I explained that because of my disability I could not do this — but I was told that as a new manager I was expected to be there."

At an employment tribunal in Ashford, Kent, the mother of two accused staff of bullying and sexual harassment. The tribunal continues.