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This England

A man in torment

Stephen English, 56, a happily married man for 20 years with three teenage children, said that the "tormenting" began when a work colleague discovered that he had been to boarding school and now lived in Brighton. His claim for compensation against his former employer, Thomas Sanderson Blinds, was rejected by an employment tribunal and also by an appeal tribunal. But the Court of Appeal ruled that someone can be harassed by homophobic banter even though he is not gay, is not thought to be gay by his fellow workers and even though he accepts that they do not believe him to be gay.

Times (Francis Harvey)

Mouse terror alert

A fireman refused to stay alone in a station at night after he saw a mouse. When he saw a second one, he locked the door and drove ten miles back to his HQ, where his bosses ordered him to go back and finish his shift.

A fire brigade insider said: "The station was closed for two hours but fortunately there were no calls for them to deal with while it was shut."

Daily Mail (Ron Rubin)

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