FIRST a Brussels bureaucrat told us Wales didn't exist by leaving it off a map - now an insurance company has followed suit.

When Gwent pensioner Bernard Zavishlock received his renewal notice it informed him Gwent and Wales didn't exist.

"It described Wales as an 'unknown' country, and I was informed I couldn't renew my policy," said Mr Zavishlock, 71, from Abergavenny.

He added: "I thought it was a bit farcical - I saw the European map which omitted Wales, and this seemed to follow on from that.

"Somebody needs to get their act together and register that Wales exists."

Mr Zavishlock's letter from Sentinel Card Protection said the insurance, which covers credit and bank cards, was only available to customers who lived in England, Ireland, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Although the company included Gwent on Mr Zavishlock's address it stated he lived in an "unknown country".

"I did have a bit of a laugh about it - I suppose if I was more of a fervent Welshman I would have taken more offence," said the grandfather of six.

He added: "Clearly the person responsible for the computer programme has made a mistake and not treated Wales as a separate country."

Mr Zavishlock has since taken his custom elsewhere - to an insurance company which does recognise Wales.

A spokesman for Sentinel apologised for the error.

"Obviously we are not trying to discriminate against the thousands of customers we have in Wales, and the mistake has now been rectified.

"It was a typing error which resulted in a key word being omitted, which in this case was Wales.

"I would like to apologise to Mr Zavishlock, along with anybody else who received the letter, for any offence or confusion caused.

"We're sorry to hear he has gone elsewhere."

Last year a bureaucratic blunder left Wales off a map of Europe on the cover of a prestigious EU reference book.

All EU member states, and the rest of Britain, were accurately represented on the cover - but Wales had disappeared and been replaced by the Irish Sea.