LOW-PAID staff were celebrating yesterday after they were awarded payouts from a North-East council.

A total of 139 workers, mainly women, are due to receive thousands of pounds each after an employment tribunal, in Newcastle, ruled that they had been underpaid.

Judgements on a further 200 workers of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council - including home carers and dinner ladies - have still to be made.

Taxpayers in the east Cleveland area now face a £1.1m bill to pay the workers after Newcastle solicitor Stefan Cross successfully contested the authority's equal pay deal.

The solicitor said the final bill for the council could be nearly £2m.

One worker, who lives in Redcar but did not wish to named, said: "I will get more than £8,000 - more than double I would have got in the original council deal."

In a statement, the council said more than half the women would receive a one-off lump sum payment of less than £5,000 and two thirds would receive less than £10,000.

Colin Moore, the council's chief executive, criticised Mr Cross, who will be paid about £275,000 from the deal.

Mr Moore, who received a 32.5 per cent pay increase last year to take his pay to £110,000 a year, said the council would have to borrow the money to pay the bill.

He said: "Significant services will be foregone.

"By going to the tribunal, these women gambled on getting more but a few have actually got less. One poor woman will see less than £10."

Mr Cross was not available for comment last night, but a spokesman for his firm said the women would share an average pay out of more than £10,000.