A DATE has been set for an employment tribunal to examine the dismissal of a popular New Forest railwayman.

Ticket office clerk Ian Faletto claims he was sacked for removing a shopping trolley which had been dumped on the line at Lymington.

Now, the 50-year-old, from Durley Crescent in Totton, is preparing for an unfair dismissal case to be heard in Southampton on November 1.

It follows a public outcry over his sacking in which more than 8,400 people signed a petition urging South West Trains (SWT) to give him his job back.

The Rev Alex Russell, vicar of St Mark’s Church in nearby Pennington, led the campaign.

Mr Faletto’s story even reached the House of Commons when New Forest West MP Desmond Swayne presented the petition to Parliament.

The company says Mr Faletto was sacked for breaching safety rules but they have not discussed claims that it involved the removal of a trolley.