A Spanish civil servant who failed to turn up for work for six years was only discovered when he was considered for an award for loyal service.

Former public employee Joaquín García, who was still collecting his annual €37,000 ($58,000) salary, was on Friday ordered by Cádiz city hall to pay €27,000 in compensation.

Joaquín García was employed as a civil servant in the Spanish city of Cadiz.

He had been sent by the city council to oversee the building of a waste-water treatment plant in the south-western city, but records show that Mr García had not turned up for work for six years.

Mr García responded by filing his own complaint with city hall, demanding that councillor José Blas Fernández, in charge of personnel at the time, be disciplined for negligence for failing to notice his absence.