Vikki-Marie Gaynor, formerly known as Mike, suffered abuse from colleagues after she turned up for a shift wearing make-up and jewellery.

In February 2007, Gaynor told bosses at haulage firm Exel, part of DHL, of her intentions to start living as a woman and have a full sex change operation on the NHS. It was after this, reports the BBC, that colleagues began making cruel jibes and making offensive gestures towards her.

According to the report, colleagues went as far as to remove Gaynor’s belongings and make-up from her lorry and dump them in a bin liner in a disabled toilet at the DHL base in Kirkby, Merseyside.

The tribunal found that DHL did discriminate against Gaynor by removing her usual run, but that Blue Arrow (the recruitment agency that placed Gaynor) did not “aid or abet”.

However, Blue Arrow did discriminate against Gaynor in the way it dealt with two grievance complaints.

Gaynor said: “I am absolutely made up, I really am. It has been a year of hell. Discrimination against the trans community exists and it is horrible.”