A LOCAL authority transport manager has been awarded £100,000 in compensation after winning a claim for constructive dismissal against council bosses.

Today Blackburn with Darwen Council revealed that a member of staff had been suspended following its failure to contest the tribunal.

Stephen Whittingstall, 47, told the hearing he was forced to quit his £29,000-a-year post as principal transport planner at Blackburn with Darwen Council after being passed over for promotion.

In his statement to the hearing he said he had earlier tried to expose alleged financial irregularities over the council's dealings with Capita, the firm which runs many of its services.

After the hearing, council bosses denied the allegation, saying an internal investigation into financial dealings with Capita had found no wrongdoing.

But the father-of-five, of Oban Drive, Blackburn, successfully claimed unfair and constructive dismissal.

Mr Whittingstall told the hearing he was so worried about paying his bills that he was forced to work as an Elvis impersonator in the weeks after his resignation last June.

Speaking after the hearing, Mr Whittingstall said the council left him feeling "unwanted, let down, angry and gagged."

He said: "The compensation looks like an awful lot of money but its not going to get my career back or give me a pension."

Documents presented to the hearing said Mr Whittingstall made a formal complaint to an executive director about payments being made to Capita.

The documents said Mr Whittingstall, whose job involved overseeing budgets for payments to Capita for highways and transport work, complained that the council was being asked to pay for jobs that had been 'double billed.'

He claimed the council sometimes received two invoices -- for two separate budgets -- and routinely asked him to sign them off.

He refused to sign them off and complained to managers, the hearing was informed.

The documents revealed that at around the same time, early last year, he applied for a promotion to team leader, a post he was already effectively doing in his role as acting team leader.

After waiting for six weeks without word, he was eventually told there had been a 're-think' about the team leader job.

He resigned the next day.

Employed in local government since 1978, Mr Whittingstall has 25 years experience working in transport departments. He joined Blackburn with Darwen in 1998 as a transport manager before joining Blackpool Council in May 2000. He then returned to Blackburn as principal transport planner in June 2002.

He now works as a car salesman.

After the hearing, his wife Tracey (corr) said: "If Stephen had stayed there it would have made him ill."

Donna Hall, executive director for corporate resources at the council, said: "The council totally rejects Mr Whittingstall's claims. He resigned of his own volition to take up a new career in Ibiza.

"Unfortunately the council was not allowed to appear at the hearing because of procedural problems which related to a response being received by the tribunal a few days late.

"This is in part due to the fact that tribunal rules changed late last year. We are currently investigating why they did not receive our response in time.

"As for Capita double billing the council for work, this has been investigated and found to be without substance. If the council had been able to attend we could have challenged this allegation.

"We are asking for a review."

She confirmed a member of staff has been suspended 'over an issue relating to the employment tribunal'. She added: "It's an internal matter subject to an investigation."