A Christian nurse from Exeter re-assigned to an office role after she refused to remove a necklace bearing a cross will bring her case before an employment tribunal.

Shirley Chaplin, 54, said The Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust Hospital was trying to prevent her from expressing religious beliefs.

In response to the controversy last September, the trust said the policy was nothing to do with the crucifix specifically, but motivated by health and safety concerns about patients grabbing necklaces.

Mrs Chaplin's case for discrimination on religious grounds is due to begin in her home city of Exeter next Monday.

Six bishops and Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote a letter to The Sunday Telegraph attacking the "apparent discrimination" against churchgoers.

They said Mrs Chaplin's example was "yet another case in which the religious rights of the Christian community are being treated with disrespect".

Her complaint is backed by the Christian Legal Centre (CLC), and she will be represented by human rights barrister Paul Diamond.

CLC director Andrea Williams said: "The money the trust is spending on lawyers in this case could employ many a nurse like Shirley Chaplin in front line nursing. It is ridiculous that in our country with such a great Christian heritage, the court require evidence to prove that the cross is a Christian symbol while not applying the same standards to other faiths."