A CONSULTANT who was told she would not go far in her profession because she was black and a woman has won a damages battle against her hospital.

A tribunal found that Feyi Awotona was fired because she began amassing evidence for a racial discrimination claim.

The 47-year-old mother-of-three said she was "astonished" at the comment made by her medical director, Peter Robson.

She claimed it was the worst example of the racial victimisation she had suffered, and made it clear to her bosses that she would be pursuing a case against them.

Bosses at South Tyneside Healthcare Trust brought a series of charges against the Nigerian consultant and unfairly dismissed her, a Newcastle employment tribunal found.

Mrs Awotona had studied under some of the world's most eminent doctors in Britain's top teaching hospitals, but still found herself the subject of "demeaning" comments from fellow consultants at South Tyneside District Hospital, South Shields.

Dr Awotona, of Gosforth, Newcastle, was sacked in December, 1998, for "gross personal misconduct" following a hospital inquiry into allegations that she vanished from work and that she was obstructive and confrontational.

But Dr Awotona claimed the charges were "trumped up".

The tribunal agreed, upholding her claims of racial discrimination and unfair dismissal, but rejecting her claim of sexual discrimination.

A hearing will take place in the near future to decide the amount of damages.