A motorist today dubbed the AA 'Absolutely Appalling' after telling how the organisation left him stranded by a motorway for more than six hours.

And Illyas Ahmed said the self-proclaimed 'fourth emergency service' flatly refused to pick up his car until the police intervened and ordered them to do so.

The 29-year-old Bradford businessman - who has £200-a-year membership - said it eventually took the recovery firm eight hours to get him back on the road, causing him to miss a meeting with bereaved relatives before they flew out of the country. It was nearly 12 hours from when he broke down before he was back on the road.

The AA admitted not helping him at first but claimed it was because Mr Illyas became abusive to a patrolman and refused to show him his membership card. A spokesman said the AA mechanic also had doubts that he was a bona fide AA member after questioning him about his identification.

But today, dad-of-three Mr Ahmed, of Beresford Road, Wibsey, said: "This is absolute nonsense. First of all they blamed me for not having a card, which I did, and now this. They are just making excuses for their appalling service."

He told how the marathon row began at 7.45pm when his R-registered Proton Persona broke down at the Hartshead Moor service station on the M62.

After calling the AA, a contractor from an independent garage arrived, checked his membership card and examined the vehicle.

"He said the clutch cable had gone and they would need a proper AA recovery vehicle to deal with it," said Mr Ahmed.

Mr Ahmed, who was travelling with two relatives, said it was 11.20pm before the vehicle arrived.

"The man asked who was the customer and I said 'It's me'. I showed him my membership card and said I have my driving licence and credit card," he said.

After studying the documents and asking some questions, the patrolman went to his own vehicle and made a phone call.

"He came back and said 'The details you have given are false'. Then he got back into his vehicle. I tried to talk to him but he just said 'bye-bye, I am going home'," said Mr Ahmed.

He said he then spent an hour on his mobile phone to an AA manager, but added: "They turned around and said point blank: 'You are not getting any service tonight'."

At around 12.30am Mr Ahmed went to a police office based at the service station and told them of his predicament.

"An inspector looked at my documentation, phoned the AA, and told them to come and pick me up or he would take it further."

By 1.30am, the original contractor arrived, towed the car back to Bradford and dropped Mr Ahmed at Wakefield where he picked up a courtesy car at around 5am.

"I then drove to Birmingham - where I was meant to be meeting relatives after a death in the family - but they had already flown out of the country," he said.

An AA spokesman confirmed that they only returned to the scene after police 'demanded' they do so.

But he said the second patrolman had left Mr Ahmed stranded after he refused to show his AA card, became 'irate and abusive', swore at the mechanic, and failed to answer security questions correctly.

"He had doubts about Mr Ahmed being an AA member and also concerns about his own safety," said the spokesman.

"With hindsight it seems that he was a member but he had to make a decision there and then."

The patrolman called his manager and was told to leave the scene, said the spokesman.

He added: "We do say to people that we retain the right to refuse service if they cannot prove they are the members they say they are."

Mr Ahmed said: "This is absolute rubbish. Why would I be aggressive with the second man when the contractor said I was fine? His attitude was not right from the start."