A MECHANIC who said a car had left the Nissan factory with a potentially dangerous fault declined to hand over the details when bosses visited his home, a tribunal has been told.

Instead, Alan Richardson said he was only prepared to communicate with the company in writing.

Mr Richardson, 42, was suspended three days after he submitted a dossier on June 5, 2000, claiming malpractice at Nissan's Sunderland plant in 1997.

Mr Richardson, of Barrington Drive, Glebe, Washington, said a car with a "nipped brake pipe" -making it potentially dangerous to drive -had been deemed safe.

He complained when senior manager Kevin Fitzpatrick and personnel officer Malcolm Warhurst visited him at home to ask for the vehicle identification number so they could check the vehicle.

The industrial tribunal in Newcastle heard he felt he was being persecuted and that his privacy had been invaded.

Mr Richardson said he would only communicate with the company in writing.

He said: "I thought they wanted my help in a cover-up and they were trying to get me to resign.

"It was pressure, pressure, pressure. It made me think it was a mental ploy to walk away. Nissan lacked empathy and respect."

Mr Richardson was eventually sacked and is claiming unfair dismissal.

The company said it dismissed him because trust and confidence had irretrievably broken down.

John Cavanagh, for Nissan, said: "They were desperate to trace that potentially life-threatening vehicle.

"They had no way of communicating with you. You made the allegation. Isn't is reasonable to come to ask for your help?"

Nissan denies wrongdoing. The tribunal continues.