A GWENT company executive who won an unfair dismissal claim says he is now putting his life back on track after a "nightmare" 12 months.

Bob Clarke, 43, was sacked by Ipswich-based power firm TXU Engeri for sending what an employment tribunal described as an offensive e-mail on their internal system. He had forwarded a "joke" e-mail from his son, portraying Arab women as ugly, to regional managers.

On Tuesday, he was awarded £32,596 compensation by the Bury St Edmunds tribunal. Mr Clarke, father of England and Surrey cricketer Rikki Clarke, is now planning to go into business with friend Jason Wilks.

The pair are setting up Broadband Solutions Ltd on Cathedral Road, Cardiff. Mr Clarke, of Magor, has spent the last year out of work and living off his savings.

He said the lifestyle he and his partner of five years, Sharon Rudd, 27, once enjoyed took a nose-dive after he was fired.

He went from earning nearly £100,000 a year to having to sell his home. Mr Clarke said: "It was a complete nightmare last year.

"I used to have a company car but now I've got a Ford Fiesta and when you're 6ft 6ins that's not good!"

Mr Clarke was forced to hand back his £35,000 E Class Mercedes after he was fired. "Everything suffered. My relationship with Sharon suffered. It was a strain and we argued more," Mr Clarke said.

The couple could also no longer afford to send their three-year-old son, Robert, to nursery every day. As a result he only had a couple of sessions a week. After a year out of work, Mr Clarke says his self-esteem was dented.

He said: "You start to question yourself when you've got no money in the bank. But you have to buck up."

Although he was delighted to have won his case, Mr Clarke felt the cash fell short of what he deserved.

The tribunal decided he had contributed to his own dismissal because the e-mail was offensive.

But Mr Clarke added: "At least I have cleared my name." His former employers have now been bought out. Mr Clarke hopes to still get his compensation despite that. He said: "I'm fairly hopeful that I will. I'll fight it as far as I can possibly go - the High Court if I have to."