BPM Media Nita O'Dell was sacked for liking a Facebook post of a dog dressed in a burka

FREE now SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Make the most of your money by signing up to our newsletter fornow We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

Nita O'Dell said she was “stunned” when she was branded a racist after sharing the photo of a dog wearing a makeshift version of the Muslim clothing with her friends on Facebook. A caption underneath the image also read: "Guide dog for a Muslim woman. It's called a Barka." Nita, 54, was hauled before the headteacher at Billesley Primary School in Birmingham in June after a screengrab of her Facebook page was sent in anonymously. The dinner lady was suspended on full pay before being sacked in September for gross misconduct. Now the grandmother-of-seven says she faces a bleak Christmas having just lost an appeal against the school’s decision.

Nita, who lives in Kings Heath, Birmingham, said she relied on her job as her 52-year-old diabetic husband, Tim, is too ill to work. She said: "I am not a racist. "The school is very multicultural, if I was a racist it would've come out before now. "I was sacked the day before I was due to celebrate 21 years' service. "My sister-in-law is a Muslim, my very best friend, who I've known since we were two, is of mixed race, our family consists of different cultures. "I just thought the picture was funny and 'liked' it. A lot of other people 'liked' it too.

SG The dog wearing a burka shared on Facebok

"I just feel so down and intimidated. There is not a racist bone in my body. It's not in my blood. "I broke down when they sacked me and broke down again at the appeal. "I have been pulling my hair out for two months and just don't know where to turn. I've been left to feel like a criminal. "My husband and children have really stood by me and they're disgusted, but what can I do? We haven't got the money to fight this. "Losing your job is bad enough, but being called a racist is just your worst nightmare." Nita also described her shock when headteacher Johanne Clifton pulled the "evidence" from an envelope when she was fired.

BPM Media Nita O'Dell said she is facing a bleak Christmas after being sacked

The mother-of-two, whose two children Crystal and Karl both went to the school, added: "I was going to work as normal, I was happy. "All of a sudden, the head said 'we have a problem'. "She opened the envelope and produced the picture that had been taken on a mobile phone and told me some people would take it as racist. "That never crossed my mind. I just shared a picture that I thought was funny. "The worst thing is I haven't talked to my friends at the school since June. I think they've been told not to talk to me. "I think it's terrible what's happened and unfair." However, a spokesman for the school said Nita had been warned about social media posts before the incident.

BPM Media Nita O'Dell had been a dinner lady for 20 years