A gay shop worker was made to feel like an "infected animal" when his boss discovered he had the HIV virus, an employment tribunal heard.

Karl Nugent said he was handed £20 to buy his own towels and told to use his own mug and cutlery at the Clinton Cards shop in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, where he worked.

"I was made to feel like I was an infected animal that should be kept away from everyone else," he said.

Mr Nugent, 23, is claiming discrimination against a disability and his sexual orientation, and is seeking damages from Clinton Cards PLC and former boss Sue Johnson.

The tribunal heard that he was suspended and later dismissed for failing to disclose a criminal conviction on his job application.

At the tribunal, Mr Nugent, of Manchester, said he "appreciated this was wrong" and that he was obliged to disclose the theft conviction to the firm - which had employed him 16 days earlier.

But Mr Nugent claimed Mrs Johnson had known about his prior conviction for at least a week before he was suspended on March 25 this year, and had taken no action.

Mr Nugent, who told the tribunal at Thornaby, Teesside, he had been openly gay for eight years.

"I was extremely shocked by my diagnosis and struggled to take it in. But my employer had a right to know about my condition and as Sue was my boss I felt I could trust her.

"Later she took £20 from the till to buy two towels for my use only and to avoid having to use the same towels as everyone else."

Mr Nugent claimed she also told him to use a separate toilet at the store and a different mug and cutlery "to avoid other staff catching HIV".

The tribunal also heard that Mr Nugent did not appeal against his dismissal.

The hearing continues.