Factory bullies wrapped me in cling film and locked me in a box

Jennifer Huntley, 24, was beaten, taunted, poisoned and humiliated on an almost daily basis by two men at a food factory.

The catalogue of abuse included being wrapped in cling film and hoisted towards ceiling fans, a court heard yesterday.

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She also had her hands, mouth and feet taped before being imprisoned in a box and driven around the factory on a fork-lift truck.

On other occasions, her food was laced with industrial-strength chilli powder and mustard powder was smeared on her face. She ended up so covered in bruises from the beatings she received that her mother feared she had leukaemia and sent her to see the doctor.

Yesterday Lee Hillerby, 31, and Barry Beadle, 29, were given suspended prison terms at Hull Crown Court after admitting putting a person in fear of violence and harassment.

Nigel Cowgill, prosecuting, told the court: "This is the worst case of workplace bullying and harassment I have ever seen.

"It was persistent, psychological and physical abuse and intimidation.

"The victim was clearly in fear of violence and violence was used against her." The men picked on Miss Huntley when they worked together at the food processing firm Phoenix Select in Hull between March 2005 and April last year.

She was punched and kicked and even had excrement left on her table, the court heard.

Miss Huntley, who now works at a care home, said: "It was the hardest thing I have ever been through.

"I couldn't bring myself to tell my mum or my partner. I would hide the bruises. It started a year before I came forward and it kept getting worse and worse.

"They wrapped me in cling film and hoisted me towards ceiling fans. It was so frightening. They would physically drag me across the floor. I had to pretend it didn't bother me so they wouldn't get a bigger kick out of it.

"They had been there a long time and said no one would believe me if I complained. I came home crying and I got depressed. I didn't want to go into work."

When she finally plucked up the courage to report the bullying to her boss, he treated her tormentors like "naughty schoolboys" and said he would "have a word with them".

She said the men continued as they had before. "When they saw me they called me names and were awful," she said. "They hadn't taken any notice of the warning.

"I went home and didn't go back. I finally told my mum and she rang the police. I urge other people to be brave and speak out. Don't let it go on as long as it did."

Miss Huntley's mother, Margaret Mann, 61, said she believed her daughter was an "easy target". "Jenny can sometimes say silly things and I think that's what the men picked up on," she said. "Those men ruined her life."

Mrs Mann added that the case had also been taken to an industrial tribunal but had been settled out of court.

Helen Trevorrow, of the Andrea Adams Trust, which aims to tackle workplace bullying, said: "We praise this girl's courage. We are encouraging people who witness or experience bullying to speak out." Hillerby and Beadle were given nine-month prison sentences suspended for two years. Phoenix Select refused to comment or reveal if they were still working at the firm.

c.brooke@dailymail.co.uk