A WORCESTER councillor was stopped by immigration officials who asked him to prove he was British as he returned from a holiday in Australia.

David Clark, ward councillor for Bedwardine, said he was appalled by how rude the female officer was to him.

Mr Clark, who is also a volunteer recruitment and media officer for Age Concern, had been travelling for almost 24 hours after a holiday in Melbourne when he was stopped in Birmingham airport and asked to prove he lived in England.

The councillor, who lives in Columbia Drive, Lower Wick, has dual nationality because he emigrated to Australia in the 1960s, but later returned to the UK.

He had used his Australian passport to travel so he did not have to apply for a visa, but thinks the problem arose because his passport had not been stamped as he left England.

London-born Mr Clark, said he and his wife Lynne were made to wait for more than an hour - and she even had to be escorted to the toilet by a male officer.

"They asked us in front of everybody, which was really embarrassing with about 100 people waiting to go through," he said.

"They sent us to the side and asked, Why are you coming into the county?

"I said because I lived here. She asked if I could prove it. I said look at the address on my passport but she told me that could be written in and not be true.

"I then showed her my driving licence and credit cards. I didn't have my British passport on me as I wasn't travelling on it and had left it at home.

"The officer was rude and sarcastic and was trying to wind me up. It is just ridiculous. I am English and was questioned to prove it, when they let in all the illegal immigrants. What sort of threat do I pose?"

A spokesman for the Border and Immigration Agency said they were unable to comment on individual cases but said Mr Clark could have travelled out on his Australian passport and returned on his British one.

"We are determined to maintain effective immigration controls, preventing those who have no right to be here from entering the UK. Any questioning of an individual is to ensure that they qualify for entry to the UK. Immigration officers are trained to politely but robustly challenge people who arrive at our ports, dealing with arriving passengers as quickly and as efficiently as possible".