An office worker who was sacked after developing a phobia about the path leading to her workplace has won a cash payout from her bosses.

Maria Wadrop, 31, refused to go to work at Nissan's Sunderland plant because she said the sight of the path leading to her office block left her petrified.

She told her bosses that she could not bear to be near the path as - for no apparent reason - it brought back memories of her baby daughter who died in 1997.

At first, her bosses were understanding and gave her time off but they gradually became tired of her absence.

As her mental condition deteriorated Miss Wadrop, who also has a seven-year-old son, was called in to see company doctors.

During one meeting, Miss Wadrop accused them of playing at amateur psychiatrics by driving her up the path themselves in a car.

Eventually, her bosses sacked her in 1998 and Miss Wadrop took them to an employment tribunal claiming sexual discrimination and unfair dismissal.

Following an initial hearing in May this year, Nissan has now agreed to pay her an undisclosed sum, which is believed to run into several thousand pounds.

Nissan would not comment on the payout and Miss Wadrop would only say: "It has been resolved, but I am not allowed to tell you anything about it."

Dr Mary Jane Taki, a psychiatrist formerly at Newcastle General Hospital, gave Miss Wadrop a consultation prior to the tribunal.

She told the hearing that the action of Miss Wadrop's work supervisor and a member of the personnel department could have potentially had a more harmful effect.

She said: "The difficulty of just exposing someone to that situation is that you can make the fear worse.

"Anything that would cause her increased stress would aggravate her recovery".

Nissan's lawyer, Seamus Sweeney, said Miss Wadrop had gone in the car voluntarily and was given a choice on whether or not to go.

As they approached the path in the car, Miss Wadrop, of Glebe, near Washington, began to have a panic attack.

She could not explain why the path reminded her of her baby.