A FEMALE spy who sued the army after suffering bullying and sexual discrimination at the hands of special forces colleagues has won £12,000 compensation.

Corporal Leah Mates, 30, of Calne was awarded the payment after an employment tribunal upheld 12 of the 48 accusations placed before them.

The tribunal heard her face was placed on a shooting target in Northern Ireland, derogatory graffiti was sprayed on furniture and a superior officer masturbated while saying her name in a tent she was sharing with male colleagues.

In her statement to the tribunal Cpl Mates said: "The army is a male preserve and a woman who tries to establish herself does so at the peril of her health and happiness.

"There is no point in expecting the Army authorities to do anything about it because they have the same prejudices against women, ironically even if they are themselves women."

Cpl Mates, posted with the 14 Intelligence Company in Northern Ireland, had broken down in tears in front of the tribunal and said the treatment she received had led to her feeling suicidal.

In an interview with the Sun newspaper after the end of the tribunal she spoke of a never ending list of scandals' that were covered up.

She told the paper soldiers ignored intelligence leads to finish work early, arrived at work drunk and some colleagues would sneak off to have sex with women on IRA-supporting estates.

She said: "It's the most unprofessional unit I have ever served with.

"There was this mentality that because the unit was elite they were above everyone else and the normal rules didn't apply to them."

After the hearing a Ministry of Defence spokesman said the implications of the judgement were being taken into consideration but it was too early to say if any action would be taken against those involved in the case.

She said: "There is no place for sexual harassment or bullying of any sort in the armed forces and we are committed at the highest level of leadership to dealing with it.

"A great deal of work has been done over many years to tackle inappropriate behaviour and we actively promote equal opportunities for all our personnel. The armed forces take all complaints of harassment and discrimination seriously, all such allegations are investigated thoroughly and where proven appropriate action is taken."