A bullied office worker has been awarded £5,000 after her boss raised his right buttock from his chair and broke wind in her direction.

Humiliated mother-of-three Theresa Bailey, 43, was the only woman on a sales team where “laddish” behaviour made her life a misery, and continued despite complains to senior managers. After she objected to sexist banter a beach ball was thrown at her head – and when she had problems working her computer was ordered to wear a badge saying “I’m simple”. Now an employment tribunal has ruled that Mrs Bailey was sexually discriminated against while working for direct marketing firm Selectabase, in Deal, Kent, and awarded her £5,146.

There was a general culture of “laddish” behaviour by men in her office, she said – with her line manager David Nye included. She said he regularly “lifted his right cheek” and broke wind in her direction throughout her brief time at the firm. Complaints about sexist banter simply led to the incident when the beach ball was thrown at her head – and her confusion about using the computer was found amusing by Mr Nye, who told her to wear the “I’m simple” badge. Feeling she had to take matter further, Mrs Bailey sent an email to Selectabase company director Steve Selwood saying: “The number of times the person at my side would lift up his bottom off the chair and fart and think it’s funny is unreal.

A fair settlement for boorish behavior, what?