AN unhappy employee bombarded her married boss with 40 lurid letters in what he described as "six months of hell," magistrates were told.

Susan Duckworth, 48, of Brunshaw Road, Burnley, admitted sending sordid letters to her boss, Ian Forster, who worked as a production manager at a cleaning company.

Burnley magistrates heard that Duckworth claimed family problems meant her husband was focusing all his attention on their troublesome daughter, which left her craving attention.

She began writing the sexually explicit letters to Mr Forster, making threats to his children and warning him to leave his wife.

Duckworth, a factory floor worker at Brencliffe Ltd, a cleaning materials manufacturer based at Burnley's Farrington Road Industrial Estate, also wrote fake letters to herself in a bid to cover her tracks. The court was told Duckworth was to face a disciplinary hearing at work -- but resigned before this took place to avoid any further embarrassment.

She pleaded guilty to harassment by sending abusive and distressing letters. Magistrates imposed a restraining order to protect Mr Forster from further harassment and sentenced her to 80 hours' community punishment.

She was also ordered to pay £300 in compensation to Mr Forster and £75 costs.

Mercedeh Jabbari, prosecuting, said: "On May 21 it came to Mr Forster's attention that posters around the factory had been defaced and written on with contents of a sexual of nature.

"Comments were made about him and Susan Duckworth, who was a worker on the factory floor. He approached her to see how it might be affecting her. She said it wasn't bothering her.

"On May 22 he began receiving letters at Brencliffe of a lurid nature.

"The letters said they would tell his wife he was having an affair with Mrs Duckworth." On June 11, Mr Forster called the police who came to investigate the allegations but they failed to prove who was sending the letters.

The letters continued in July, August and September all containing various sexual references.

Mrs Jabbari added: "Mr Forster states that he was happily married and never had a physical relationship or any other type of relationship with Mrs Duckworth.

"The letters carried on in September addressed to both Mr Forster and Mrs Duckworth. One letter said: "Get rid of your wife." Another letter said his children would be hurt if the sender found out where Mr Forster lived.

He began to suspect that Mrs Duckworth was sending the letters and he informed the police of his suspicions.

"He said these letters had caused him six months of hell and had affected his wife and his children."

The court was told the Duckworth had been married for 13 years and had three children at home. The eldest one has been in trouble over the past four years.

The court was told that at the time of the offence she was suffering from depression, eight years ago her father passed away and in June 2002 her uncle died.

Her own husband, when this came to light, said he was going to leave her but they had since worked through it and her husband has been supportive of her, the court heard.