A victory for the religious faithful has been won by a Sikh man who was refused entry to passport offices while wearing the holy Kirpan.

Tarsem Singh, 27, always wears the Kirpan, a symbolic three inch dagger, as it is one of the five K's which he is required to wear as an initiated Sikh, and he was offended by the way he was treated when he went to the Identity and Passport Service buildings in London Victoria to change his passport picture.

He said he was humiliated by security guards who perceived him as a threat and insisted he could not enter the building without removing the dagger.

He said: "I felt like they were talking down to me and didn't look at me as a British citizen even though I was born here. It made me feel very small and it was really disheartening.

"Before I became seriously religious, people saw me as more a part of the community, but now because I was wearing a turban people looked at me as if I am a part of Al-Qaeda and that is a horrible experience."

Mr Singh took the opportunity to change the rules for other members of the Sikh community, and with the support of his manager, Wilson Chowdhry at AA Security in Cranbrook Road, he has managed to turn things around.

Sikh customers entering IPS premesis whilst carrying the Kirpan will now be asked to place it in a small box which has been blessed at a Sikh gurdwara (temple) and it will be retained by security guards until they leave.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: "Sikh customers who do not feel able to follow the procedure outlined will be able to conduct their business at a specially designated window thus ensuring the customer's needs are met."

Mr Singh said: "I'm happy about the fact that we can now go in as citizens, because we are a part of Britain and we want to be able to go into the buildings as anyone else can.

"We just want to be able to carry on with our lives as everyone else does."

By Megan Reynolds