I felt gutted and angry at not being able to vote despite serving in pretty much every war going!

A Fleetwood army veteran was denied his right to vote after forgetting to bring valid photo ID to the polling station.

Former Army officer Adam Diver, 48, had been looking to place his vote in Fleetwood but was turned away after presenting his card, saying the experience left him feeling “gutted”.

“I felt clearly deflated, I felt gutted to be fair and upset – I felt angry at the point,” Mr Diver, who served in the Army for 27 years, told the PA news agency.

“I felt like my time served was invalidated and I just thought to myself, ‘what was the point in that?’

“I’ve served in pretty much every war going, I’ve spent 27 years away from my family.

“I thought you could use it as an ID card. It’s like a driving licence, you can’t get any more official and it didn’t strike me one bit that it wouldn’t be validated.”

A Number 10 spokeswoman said: “It is our intention for the new Veteran Card, which was rolled out in January, to be added to the official list.”

The Government is consulting on adding the card to the list of acceptable voter ID, which already includes armed forces identity cards.

Veterans minister Johnny Mercer apologised to those who had been unable to use their veterans’ ID card to vote in the local elections on Thursday, vowing to “do all I can” to have it added to the list of valid identification.

Mr Mercer said: “I am sorry about this. The legislation on acceptable forms of ID came out before the veterans ID cards started coming out in January this year.

“I will do all I can to change it before the next one.”

Sign up for our free newsletters now

Labour said the Government has had years to ensure the Veteran Card was included on the list of valid voter ID, having begun rolling out the cards in 2019.

Shadow veterans minister Steve McCabe said: “Veterans turned away from polling stations because they can’t use their veterans ID card to vote is a testament to how the Tories like to talk up their support for our forces but are failing to deliver.

“Despite what Johnny Mercer says, the Government has had years to make sure former service personnel could use their veterans ID to vote. It seems the minister is trying to pull the wool over veterans’ eyes yet again.”

Mr McCabe added that “multiple problems” had been found with voter ID and called for a “comprehensive review into this discredited policy”.

Thursday’s election is the first time many voters in England and Wales have had to present ID to vote under provisions first rolled out at last year’s local elections.

Acceptable forms of ID include a passport, driving licence, Proof of Age Standards Scheme (Pass) cards, Blue Badges, and some concessionary travel cards.

Catch up on the latest updates from across Lancashire’s polling stations in our live blog here.