A bus company manager, who raised more than £6,000 to go on a cancer charity trek in the Himalayas, has had his travel plans scuppered by red tape.

Khadim Hussain was due to fly out to India last week but his tourist visa was not processed in time by the Indian authorities.

The Pakistan-born father-of-three, who has British citizenship, applied for the visa at the start of March which should have given him plenty of time before the day of departure on May 4.

But a week after he sent it the papers were sent back asking for more information which he posted back the next day and got an acknowledgement from the Indian Embassy that it had been received.

After a few more days, Mr Hussain, operations manager for bus company First in Bradford, started ringing and e-mailing the visa office.

He said: “No-one seemed willing to help me. They were supposed to be processing it but then it all went quiet.

“I’ve been to India twice before and not had any problems so this has been a frustrating and bitter disappointment. The other 20 people who were going on the trek all got their visas back okay but I was the only one who was born in Pakistan. That’s what I believe has been the problem.”

Mr Hussain travelled to the High Commission of India’s office in London the day before he was due to fly out, but again no-one was able to explain why the visa was being delayed.

Mr Hussain’s £6,000 has now been paid into the bank account of the Yorkshire Cancer Care Centre, based at St James’s Hospital in Leeds, which treats patients from Bradford and Airedale. Mr Hussain’s trek was to have been in memory of his father Farzand Ali, 78, who died from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

“I feel bad that people have generously sponsored me for something I’ve not been allowed to do but it was because of red-tape not me,” he said. “I hope everyone understands.”

  • Read the full story in Wednesday's T&A