A HOLIDAY company has been ordered to pay £3,800 to a rep who slipped while dancing at a foam party.

Karen Reiling, 28, was on stage at a nightclub in Tenerife in 2000 when she was grabbed by a holidaymaker.

She fell on the wet stage and banged her head.

Ms Reiling, of Welbeck Road, Walker, Newcastle, suffered minor injuries, but complained of headaches, dizziness and nausea after the accident. She eventually left holiday company First Choice in October 2000.

At a hearing at Newcastle County Court, the company argued it was not liable for her injuries.

Defence lawyer Simon Trigger said reps were not forced to dance on the stage and that Ms Reiling had been engaged in horseplay with a colleague.

He also said the accident had been primarily caused by a holidaymaker pulling her leg, rather than the foam.

However, Recorder Alistair MacDonald ruled that First Choice was well aware of the dangers posed by the slippery wooden stage and knew that party-goers tried to grab at the dancing holiday reps.

Ms Reiling is now manager of a new Woolworth's store in Byker, Newcastle.