War veteran refused operation

Bert Evans was seen by a consultant at the hospital

A World War II veteran who was denied a cataract operation by the NHS has had to have the operation carried out in private.

Bert Evans, who only has sight in one eye, feared that the delay in his operation would result in the loss of his independence.

The Warwickshire Regiment Benevolent Fund came to his rescue and paid for the operation to be carried out privately.

The 80-year-old, who is originally from Birmingham, first went to see a consultant about at the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch in January 2000.

Bert Evans feared for his independence

He returned to the hospital in April this year, but was turned down for the operation.

Mr Evans, who survived a massacre by the SS in a French field in 1940 which resulted in the loss of his arm, said he had been "upset" when he was refused the cataract operation.

He told the BBC's Midlands Today programme: "It made me a bit upset but what can you do?"

A spokesperson for the Alexandra Hospital said that for clinical reasons, the operation had not been worth the risk.