FRED RAINE was in for a shock when he received the balance of his severance pay.

Instead of a cheque for £1,300, an 11-stone crate containing thousands of coins from 1p to 20p coins was dumped in the hallway of his Burnhope home, in County Durham.

The crate was the latest twist in an 18-month wrangle between Mr Raine and his former employer, Malcolm Lee, boss of Lee's Coaches, of Langley Moor, Durham.

In June 2005, following a dispute with Mr Lee, Mr Raine handed in his notice and on medical advice spent his last days at work on sick leave.

He claims Mr Lee refused to pay him what he was due and the matter went to an industrial tribunal, which awarded Mr Raine £2,300.

"To put the matter behind us, I even offered to settle for less than half the amount," said 61-year-old Mr Raine yesterday.

But with no resolution in sight, Mr Lee was ordered to pay up. He did pay the first £1,000, leaving £1,300 outstanding - which he has now paid in coins.

At home with his partner, Linda Walker, Mr Raine said: "We were stunned when a man dragging a large blue crate came to the door.

"After he dumped it in our hallway, I contacted a solicitor and told him how thousands of unbagged coins in an unsealed crate with no paperwork had been delivered."

Mr Raine's neighbours helped the couple haul the crate into their living room - and there it has remained.

Ms Walker said: "Fred has a heart condition and all this has been extremely stressful. It is not about money now, it is the principle."

The Northern Echo contacted Mr Lee yesterday to ask why he had chosen the unusual method of payment.

He said: "There are always two sides to a story and my side's going to be no comment."

* Coins can only be used to pay for goods up to a certain amount in the UK.

Any amount over 20p in 1p coins is not legal tender and does not have to be accepted by a business.

However, there is nothing to stop the business accepting any amount of 1p coins if it wishes to.

The following amounts of coins are legal tender in Britain for any single transaction: 20p for any amount not exceeding £10; 10p for any amount not exceeding £5; 5p for any amount not exceeding £5; 2p for any amount not exceeding 20p; and 1p for any amount not exceeding 20p.