Bad back claim belly-flops

On holiday in the Spanish sunshine, he somersaulted off the diving board ... and landed in very hot water.

For this snap was taken just months after shelf-stacker Andrew Perry claimed to have seriously injured his back carrying a crate of cola, leaving him unable to do any strenuous work again.

And yesterday, after a court was told of the picture, he was forced to abandon a £200,000 claim for damages against his former employer, cash-and-carry giant Makro.

The 27-year-old was shopped by a disgruntled ex-friend who handed the photo - along with others showing him on a jet ski - to private detectives investigating the case.

He had been been receiving legal aid, but now faces a bill of thousands of pounds after being ordered by the Court of Session in Edinburgh to foot some of the costs.

Mr Perry claimed he hurt himself at Makro's Glasgow store in April 1997. He later had hospital treatment, including a scan, physiotherapy and spinal injections.

He accused the firm of negligence, saying it failed to train him, and said he would never be able to do physically - demanding work again. Makro's lawyers were told to agree damages on the assumption that he was telling the truth.

But as the company was preparing to shell out £200,000, it received an anonymous letter, claiming to be from a friend of Mr Perry's family who was 'disgusted' at his duplicity.

'There is nothing wrong with his back - or anything else for that matter,' it said. The letter accused Mr Perry of working for his father's electrical business and delivering takeaways for a restaurant-without any apparent problems.

According to the writer, Mr Perry was determined to take his former employer to the cleaners, but was worried pictures of him on holiday in Ibiza the previous year might tell a different story.

'They (Mr Perry and his family) are now a bit concerned because their friends took photos of Andy larking about on the high- dive board,' the letter read.

'They have now fallen out with the friends. This may be too late for you to stop this wrongful claim, but you could investigate matters further before you end up parting with so much money.' Makro's detectives found witnesses who confirmed that - even before his 'accident' - Mr Perry was plotting to fabricate a claim.