A FORMER coal mine foreman has told how he faced "four and a half years of hell" after being prosecuted and sacked because bosses lied about his involvement in an environmental incident.

Stephen Russell was blamed for dirty water from the mine polluting a nearby river, but was acquitted earlier this year when a sheriff found his manager had lied about the breach.

Mr Russell, who worked at ATH Resources' opencast mine in Dumfries and Galloway, claims he was made a "scapegoat" following the incident in 2010.

The ex-foreman, from Tarbolton in South Ayrshire, went on to successfully sue the firm for unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal and has now been awarded more than £70,000.

He said: "I was employed by them for 14 years, I was a dedicated employee, I did things for them whenever they called, even at the weekends, and this is how they repaid me.

"Something went wrong that wasn't my fault and I was sacked because of it and I had to go to court because of it. It was horrendous."

The tribunal heard that Mr Russell was in charge of the Glenmuckloch mine on June 12, 2010, when dirty water leaked out into a burn and the River Nith due to a problem with a "double ditch" system.

At a disciplinary meeting days later, site manager Derek McMurdo said the foreman had been advised that the system was temporarily cut off - however Mr Russell denied this.

The company was asked several times to produce documentation showing that he had been informed of the closure, but they refused to do so.

Following a Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) investigation into the incident, Mr Russell was dismissed and charged with an offence under the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003.

The company was also charged but the Crown Office accepted a plea of not guilty from the firm.

A written judgment on the employment tribunal states that the sheriff in the criminal case found Mr McMurdo "had lied, obstructed Sepa officers and covered up the company's failures".

Mr Russell, who now works with Blackwood Plant Hire, said: "When it came to the prosecution, I was made a scapegoat."

The ex-foreman added that he and his family have found the last few years extremely difficult as the court case loomed over them.

He said: "My wife's been worried sick about it. Our family has never been involved with the police or the courts, it was all new to us and she was really scared about what might happen.

"Obviously we're delighted that I was cleared and that I won the tribunal, but my career's taken a backwards step by about 10 years.

"They lied and my career was ruined.

"The whole thing has been a nightmare."

The employment tribunal was put on hold pending the outcome of the Mr Russell's trial, which took place in February.

Judge Lucy Wiseman has now ruled in his favour, awarding him a total of £70,760.

However, it is unclear if Mr Russell will actually receive any of the money as ATH Resources was placed in administration in 2013.

Administrators KPMG did not defend the tribunal action but wrote to officials claiming Mr Russell had been sacked for gross misconduct.

KPMG declined to comment on the case.