TRANSSEXUAL TRUCK DRIVER * UK - Wins £20,000 after losing job

A transsexual truck driver who was forced out of her job when she started dressing as a woman has been awarded more than £20,000 in compensation

London,UK -The Telegraph -21 Oct 2008: -- Vikki-Marie Gaynor, a former soldier who used to be known as Mike, had been working as a trucker for Excel Europe, an arm of delivery giant DHL... She got the job via recruitment firm Blue Arrow in October, 2006... In a written judgment, employment judge Dawn Shotter ordered Blue Arrow to pay more than £9,000 compensation for breach of contract, compensation for unlawful discrimination and failing to comply with the Employment Act... Exel was ordered to pay £11,000 for injury to feelings... Miss Gaynor, from Wirral, declined to comment on the awards, but confirmed she was submitting an appeal by the end of the week, although it was unclear with which part of the ruling she remained unhappy... Several industrial tribunal hearings in Liverpool have heard she suffered cruel jibes from colleagues and had seen her shifts cancelled after turning up to work wearing women's clothing and jewellery... The tribunal panel heard that a colleague made offensive gestures at her at traffic lights... Miss Gaynor's belongings and make-up were removed from her lorry and dumped in a bin liner in a disabled toilet at the DHL base in Kirkby... Miss Gaynor, who has dressed as a woman in secret for 20 years, has launched her own business aimed at tackling transgender discrimination and prejudice... (Photo: Mercury Press Agency - Miss Gaynor dressed as a woman in secret for 20 years)