Workers at the Accident Group, the no win, no fee personal injury claims outfit that went titsup with debts of more than £30 million earlier this year, have won a compensation claim after they were sacked by text message.

There was outrage in May when some 3,000 staff received text messages telling them that they had been given the boot by the Manchester-based company.

Owed thousands of pounds in pay, the plight of those workers was made even worse after Accident Group boss, Mark Langford, was pictured sunning himself at his luxury villa in Spain while workers in the UK fretted over how they would pay the bills.

Yesterday, 21 of the company's 3,000 workforce took their compensation case to an employment tribunal in Ashford, Kent.

The tribunal ruled in their favour adding that staff had been "cynically manipulated".

But since the company has no cash, the compensation claim will be covered by the Government using taxpayers' money, the Telegraph reports.

Following yesterday's decision, other former workers are now expected to seek compensation. ®