For 46 years, Alan Morris thought he knew exactly who he was.

After all, he had a bank account and National Insurance number to prove it.

Even the disability living allowance and incapacity benefit he claims because of hip problems are paid to Alan Michael Morris.

But in the eyes of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Mr Morris is not who he thinks he is.

The 58-year-old does not have a legal name because he has lost the certificate that proved he was renamed Morris aged 11.

And when he applied to have his driving licence updated after moving to Benfield Crescent, Portslade, the DVLA said no - until he can provide proof of his identity.

He said: "Everything I use now is under Morris. I have been called Morris all my adult life and I have never had to question it up till now. Now I feel like I don't know who I am any more."

Mr Morris lived in a children's home until he was 11 with the surname Neri he was given at birth, but when his mother reclaimed him she changed his name to Morris.

He has no way of replacing the certificate because copies lodged with other child court orders from the time at Hove Town Hall would have been destroyed after 25 years.

Now he fears driving with an out-of-date licence but believes a new one under the name Neri would be illegal because his name is really Morris.

A spokesman for the DVLA said: "As a result of the inclusion of a photograph on the licence, identity checks have been tightened up and ministers have decided that original documentation should be provided.

"All drivers, irrespective of how long they have been driving or how many licences the agency has issued them, are subject to these checks.

"To do otherwise would create a two-tier system open to criticism as discriminatory."