SUSPENDED from his £71,000-a-year job after being accused of making a racist remark - allegedly telling a group of recruits, including black trainee Chris McLardie, that he would rather be gay than black - Greater Manchester's deputy fire chief Don Bramhall was out mowing his lawn the day after he had been declared unfit for work and awarded a £180,000 pay-out.

I am no medico but I would have thought that, if Mr Bramhall can see to his lawn, he is not exactly a shattered invalid.

But three medical experts think differently, each deciding he is unfit for work and even unable to brief his legal representatives.

If there is not a name for this crippling condition, I would suggest calling it the How Lucky Can You Get syndrome.

After all, who would want to get well, or even improved enough to discuss your defence with your lawyers, if the difference between having to take the flak in a disciplinary tribunal for your alleged comments and staying so ill that you end up with a jackpot retirement payment and a pension worth nearly £35,000 a year at the age of just 49?

Many would call it luck if you did not get better.

Mr Bramhall is said to be a 'broken man,' but not broke. Huh!

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