A teacher of English whose voice was permanently damaged as she struggled to make herself heard in the classroom has been awarded more than £150,000 in compensation.

A Teacher had to give up teaching after developing nodules on her vocal chords, which she blamed on the noise outside Harlington adult education centre in Hillingdon, north-west London. She says she can still only speak for a short period before her throat becomes sore and her voice hoarse, despite months of speech therapy.

The 50-year-old, who has received the six-figure sum - thought to be one of the biggest payouts received by a teacher - through two out-of-court settlements agreed by Hillingdon council, started to teach English to foreign students at the centre in 2005. She was given a classroom next to a courtyard used by schoolchildren during playtimes, and says she often had to repeat herself and raise her voice to be heard over the noise and disruption.

Within a month, she claims, she had a sore throat, which got progressively worse. Her problems were compounded by the fact that, because many of her students were beginners, clear pronunciation was vital.

The vocal chord nodules were discovered through exploratory surgery. She claims she repeatedly asked for help from her bosses at the centre but nothing was done.

After taking the council to a disability discrimination employment tribunal, she was awarded an out-of-court settlement of £11,000; a second settlement, of £145,000, was agreed in July following a separate personal injury claim.