LUCKINGTON lorry driver David Hamilton says he is relieved after solicitor Margaret Davies was struck off by a disciplinary tribunal in Bristol for misleading him over an accident claim.

At the tribunal in London, Margaret Davies, 47, of Royal York Crescent, Clifton, Bristol, was struck off, and ordered to pay £2,750 costs.

Tribunal chairman John Clitheroe said Davies had failed to respond to her professional body and misled a client.

In 1990, Mr Hamilton, of The Green, Luckington, made claims for two accidents at work. One was a road accident and the second was when he fell through a roof, causing ear problems.

The court heard Davies, an assistant solicitor at Merrick and Pereira, of Station Road, Yate, in Bristol, was assigned Mr Hamilton's case and misinformed him about what was happening.

Davies told him she wanted to consult with colleagues. At one point she told him £5,000 compensation had been offered, which was not the case.

It was not until 1997, when he went to another solicitor, that Mr Hamilton realised anything was wrong. The claim was eventually settled for £9,000.

Jon Godwin, of the Law Society, said Davies denied misleading her client.

He said she did not deny allegations of failing to provide or delaying providing papers to Mr Hamilton or solicitors. She also admitted delaying replying to a correspondence and an order of the Law Society.

Speaking on Monday at his Luckington home, Mr Hamilton said: "After 12 years I am just relieved it is all over."