A POSTAL worker who complained her delivery round was too difficult for a woman has won more than £5,000 damages.

Janice Gibson, 43, of Roker, Sunderland, said she aggravated a shoulder complaint while carrying heavy bags of letters and parcels up hundreds of flights of stairs in high-rise tower blocks.

Judge Judith Moir, sitting at Newcastle County Court, heard how Mrs Gibson's round, in the Victor Court area of Sunderland, left her needing medical treatment.

Her counsel, Christopher Williams, said Mrs Gibson's employers should have ensured there were more drop-off points to store bags.

Mrs Gibson carried out the Victor Court round between September 1997 and April 1998, and complained that the round was too difficult in January 1998.

Since then the round has been changed and the work is shared between more staff, the court heard.

After suffering a shoulder complaint, bosses gave her medical retirement, but she was reinstated as a driver when the Communication Workers' Union intervened.

With the union's backing, Mrs Gibson sought damages for alleged negligence.

After a brief adjournment yesterday, the court heard that the parties had come to terms.

Mrs Gibson had agreed to accept £5,200 damages in settlement of her claim, plus estimated legal costs of £6,600, the judge was told.

Outside court, Mrs Gibson said: "I hope what I have done today will help my fellow colleagues. I was thinking of them when I came here."

Her solicitor, Sarah Eteson, said: "The union will be pleased with the outcome. They are committed to ensuring members have safer working practices."