ASK Leonardo Estrada if he feels British and the reply comes swiftly and bitterly.

"I am British. During World War Two, I was detained in a prisoner of war camp solely because I was British, but now it seems I am not British enough for compensation."

His hurt is obvious. Seventy-year-old Mr Estrada paid a high price for being British when he spent two-and-a-half years in a Japanese camp but his sacrifice has gone unrecognised.

At the age of 11, he, his older sister, brother and mother were all taken from their Shanghai home and made Japanese prisoners of war in the Lungwha Camp.

Their crime? They were British, or "belligerent nationals" as the Japanese called them. Mr Estrada's parents had been born in the British colony of Hong Kong and the whole family held British birth certificates. Indisputable proof for the Japanese.

But not so for the British government, it would seem. Sixty years later Mr Estrada, of South Haven Close, Turlin Moor, has been told he is just not British enough to claim compensation for his

wasted years as a civilian prisoner.

In November 2000, the government announced plans for an ex-gratia payment of £10,000 to

all British civilians interned by the Japanese during World War Two.

But just seven months later, the rules were amended to exclude claimants who could not prove that one of their parents or grandparents were born in the UK.

Mr Estrada, whose grandparents were both born overseas, took the rejection personally.

"I tore the letter up into pieces, I was so mad. I see it as both discrimination and an injustice.

"My time in the camp is part of my life that I can never forget, I can never shut it out. But it does not seem to matter to the government."

His memories of the Lungwha Camp are crystal clear. He said he never saw much brutality but remembers the discipline and atmosphere of tension well.

"Every member of the family had to stand at the doorway of their hut and bow to the Japanese guard when he came round.

"I remember once the mother of the family opposite us was just too slow and couldn't get to the doorway in time.

"The guard drew his hand back and gave her a hard slap across the face. Imagine how I felt watching that as a young boy."

After leaving the camp at the age of 14, Mr Estrada started suffering nightmares straight away.

The wild dreams have caused him to jump through a glass window, severely damaging his right arm, and punch through a glass door. They still have not ceased almost 60 years later.

His treatment has enraged Poole MP Robert Syms, who describes the situation as "a disgrace." He and more than a hundred other MPs have signed an Early Day Motion backing a demand for compensation.

The law is also set to be tested in the High Court in London later this month and Mr Estrada has high hopes that justice will prevail.

"This will not stop here," he said. "If we are unsuccessful in this country, we will go to Europe and win in the court of Human Rights. This law is discriminatory and unjust and the courts will see that."