A former Grenadier Guardsman who arrived in Britain aged seven after his parents fled the Nazis has been told he is not British enough for a UK passport.

In a row which echoes the scandal of the Windrush Generation furore, grandad Tadeusz Polanski was told by the Home Office that he was not a British citizen.

The 74-year-old dad-of-three was instead told to apply for a South African passport as he arrived in the UK via the former British colony of Southern Rhodesia. Watch the video above as Mr Polanski explains his passport woes.

(Image: Birmingham Mail)

Retired Mr Polanski served for six years in the Army and later spent 33 years running the Haby Pet and Supplies shop in Holybank Road, Kings Heath.

He said he first became aware there was a problem when he tried to apply for a passport in 1996. He has been blocked ever since.

Now Mr Polanski's treatment has been raised by his MP Richard Burden in the House of Commons.

(Image: Birmingham Mail)

The pensioner said: "I don’t understand.

"My mother and father were British citizens, as are my brother and sister.

"But I’ve been told I am not. This is my country, I have served in the forces, paid my national insurance and taxes.

“It is very unsettling, very upsetting.”

Birmingham MP raises Polish refugee case

Mr Polanski's parents Antoni and Franciska fled their home of Krakow in Poland during the early part of the Second World War.

They resettled in Southern Rhodesia where where they had three children, including Tadeusz, born in 1944.

The family were then offered the chance to move to the UK, Australia or New Zealand - and chose Britain. They lived in Reading and Slough.

After leaving school in 1961 Mr Polanski joined the Grenadier Guards and served for six years, including spells in Germany and Cyprus.

He also wore the famous bright red jacket and bearskin hat for the Changing of the Guard and Trooping of the Colour ceremonies.

Mr Polanski married his wife Patricia in 1968 and settled in Birmingham, where he has worked and lived ever since. He worked for WH Smith before he opened the pet shop.

Mr Burden (Lab, Northfield) raised his case last week as the House of Commons grilled Home Secretary Amber Rudd over the Windrush scandal.

Many of those who arrived in the UK from Caribbean colonies during the 1950s have been told they are not British when applying for proof of citizenship, leaving them at risk of being denied access to services like the NHS.

In response, the Government has pledged to create a "fast-track" process to resolve the issues of those who legally came to the UK within two weeks.

(Image: Douglas Miller/Keystone/Getty Images)

Speaking in the Commons, Mr Burden told Ms Rudd: "Some of the problems faced by the Windrush Generation go well beyond people who came here from the Carribbean.

"Can I tell her about a constituent of mine, who was born in a Commonwealth country to Polish refugees from Nazism who has lived in this country since 1951 and who has served the Grenadier Guards and was turned down for a UK passport?

"Will people in his situation be subject to the fast track procedure?"

In response, Mrs Rudd told him: "I find the honourable gentleman's statement very surprising and I would ask him to write to me about it.

"The default position of the team I am setting up is to accept people.

"The only exception where they wouldn't be accepted is on serious criminality."

Mr Burden later told BirminghamLive the Home Office had written back to him, but called their response "underwhelming, to say the least".

(Image: Birmingham Mail)

He said: “The Home Secretary said the Windrush cases were a result of procedures and processes getting in the way of understanding people, and that is exactly what has happened here.

"I have written to the Home Secretary with all his documentation, his military service records and the only reply we had was from the Passport Office.

"I will be expecting a reply from her.”

A Home Office is going to contact Mr Polanski about the issue.

A spokesman said: “The Home Secretary has been clear, this is about people who have built their lives here in the UK and contributed so much to our society. We don't want them to feel unwelcome or to be in any doubt about their right to remain here and she has apologised unreservedly for any distress caused.

“The vast majority will already have documentation that proves their right to be here. For those that don't, we have established a new dedicated team to quickly help them get the documentation they need and ensure this is resolved as soon as possible.

“We've also set up a webpage and have been speaking to charities and community groups to ensure advice and reassurance is provided to those affected.”