A bus driver who was sacked for testing positive for cocaine has been awarded £40,000 after a tribunal ruled the drug could have got into his system when he licked his fingers after accepting notes from students.

Kenneth Ball, 62, who suffers from type-2 diabetes and high blood pressure, worked as a driver for First Group in Essex for more than 20 years.

In June last year, a random drugs test showed that he had traces of the Class A drug in his saliva. In a bid to prove his innocence, he submitted a hair follicle test that showed no trace of cocaine, but it was dismissed as evidence by the bus company.

At East London Employment Court, Mr Ball was awarded more than £37,000 as an employment judge agreed that he could have tested positive after handling contaminated bank notes. The tribunal heard how four out of five bank notes can test positive for traces of cocaine, according to experts.

The tribunal heard that the former bus driver would often lick his sore fingers at the wheel because he had to prick them with needles every two hours to monitor his blood sugar levels.

Mr Ball told the court the test test for his diabetes would cause his fingers to bleed, and that he would lick them to relieve the pain.