A pensioner feels he was treated like a criminal when his West Yorkshire headquartered bank refused him access to his savings because he didn’t have an in-date passport or driver’s licence.

Halifax, whose iconic head office is based in Trinity Road, Halifax town centre, has apologised and compensated David Drew for the ordeal, which saw the wheelchair-bound 90-year-old turned away from his local branch.

The retired Cunard employee, who has suffered ill health in recent months, feared he would not be able to pay his £5,600 monthly care home fees.

“It’s security gone mad,” said David. “I’ve worked for 48 years of my life and I feel like I’ve done my bit.

"But now I feel like I’m being treated like a criminal when I haven’t done anything wrong.

“I don’t get out too much as I’ve not been very well, and I don’t see the need in having to update my passport when I’m never going to use it again. The whole thing has been very stressful.”

David has two savings accounts with Halifax which have remained untouched for 30 years, accumulating a substantial sum of money.

When he emptied his accounts at other banks, including Barclays, to pay for his care home place, he finally had to use these savings.

So he was shocked to learn he could not get access to his accounts because his passport and driving licence were out of date - having no issues accessing the money in his accounts with other banks.

Despite suffering a fall in July, leaving him unable to walk, and recently recovering from pneumonia, David visited his branch on September 12 with the help of a carer to plead his case.

David - who is a bachelor with no children - asked to see the manager, but was told they weren’t available.

Despite being assured they would call him back, they did not pick up the phone for days - leaving him riddled with stress.

He said: “It’s been nearly two weeks, and I haven’t heard anything, I think it’s really poor and I’ve been disappointed by their whole attitude.

“I’d just like them to be a bit more understanding and to help me. I offered them the opportunity to phone the care home to get my identification verified but they just didn’t seem interested.

“I think I can just about make my payment for next month but then I don’t know where the money is going to come from.”

Since a newspaper approached Halifax, the bank has spoken to David and said it was arranging the transfer of his savings to his current account.

A spokesperson said: "We’re sorry we didn’t get this right when he first contacted us and will be making a payment in recognition of this."

David's local branch is in the Bitterne precinct, Southampton, which is not far from Oak Lodge Care Home, where he is a resident.