THE former boss of a South Yorkshire animal sanctuary has won his case after claiming he was unfairly sacked.
Steve Bamford - dubbed Dr Dolittle by supporters of the Thornberry Animal Sanctuary at Dinnington - lost his job last year after claims he bullied and intimidated his staff.
But today it was revealed Mr Bamford has been awarded an undisclosed sum
in compensation after the sanctuary admitted it had acted unfairly in getting rid of him.
Trustees of the animal welfare charity and Mr Bamford declined to comment on the decision or reveal how much money the former general manager has been awarded.
But a joint statement issued by both parties said: "Thornberry Animal
Sanctuary acknowledges it acted unfairly in dismissing Steve in September and confirms it has paid an undisclosed sum to him in compensation.
"Steve became general manager in 1989 and his and others contributions to the sanctuary saw it grow into a nationally-recognised charitable body with substantial assets and an employer of 20 staff.
"Throughout his tenure Steve was a tireless advocate for animal welfare, and the work of the sanctuary has resulted in the rescue and re-homing of hundreds of animals.
"Steve would like to thank his family, friends, staff and volunteers for their help over the past 20 years."
Animal lover Steve lost his job after an internal inquiry criticised his management of Thornberry.
The charity came in for criticism after it spent £750,000 buying a farm at Ravenfield while at the same time claiming it was hard up and in danger of folding. Thornberry said it was buying the farm with money expected from the sale of other premises it owned near Worksop.
At the same time the Charity Commission launched an inquiry into allegations of financial mismanagement. It later cleared the sanctuary of any serious wrongdoing but did find a number of 'shortcomings' in the way it was run.
Later members of staff and regular volunteers at the sanctuary were surveyed on issues such as the treatment of staff and the behaviour of management, which led to criticisms of his management style.
Following the report's findings the trustees decided to ask him to resign from his post as general manager and he immediately lodged a claim for unfair dismissal.
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