Pensioner spends the first night of his 'holiday' in RECYCLING BIN burning fish and chip wrappers for warmth after bus driver drops him off 15 miles from airport

Henry Stewart has claimed he was told there would be no other buses going to Edinburgh Airport, so he took refuge in a recycling bin

A pensioner claims he was forced to spend the first night of his holiday in a recycling bin after a bus company dropped him 15 miles away from the airport he was flying out of.

Henry Stewart was booked to fly to Malta to spend time with friends but was stranded after a bungling bus driver dropped him well short of Edinburgh Airport.

Mr Stewart, 70, a Black Watch army veteran and a retired master butcher, said the last connecting bus of the day to the airport had gone, and he'd left his phone at home.

So he claims to have spent the night huddled for warmth in an unlocked recycling bin, burning fish and chip wrappers for warmth on a stormy night.

Bus firm Citylink apologised for the error and booked replacement flights for him.

Mr Stewart, who recently recovered from a heart attack, was making his way to Edinburgh Airport and boarded a bus to Ingliston, But the driver dropped him at Halbeath, Fife, instead.

The pensioner found the site in darkness and soon discovered there was no connecting bus to Edinburgh until the following morning.

Uncertain of what to do, and having left his phone at home, he says he sought shelter in the only place he could find - an unlocked recycling bin.

He says he opened a drawer and crawled inside, spending the night there in the freezing cold as near gale force winds howled around him.

Mr Stewart said he'd peered through the windows of the waiting room at the station at vending machines filled with food.

He also told of scavenging bins for fuel to burn, grabbing fish and chip wrappers which he fought to keep lit in the strong winds until his lighter gave out.

Citylink has apologised for the error that saw him stranded and said the driver - contracted from another firm - had been interviewed and the 'appropriate action taken'.

This is the site where the 70-year-old war veteran said he took refuge after spotting an opening in the dark

Mr Stewart says he burnt fish and chip wrappers to stay warm as he sheltered in a recycle bin

Halbeath Park & Ride station near Dunfermline, Fife, where a war veteran was forced to sleep outside in freezing temperatures as the waiting area was closed

It also stepped in to book replacement flights and an extended overseas stay to ensure that his holiday was merely delayed, not cancelled.

Mr Stewart's claims about his search for shelter are disputed, however, though the firm admits he disappeared from CCTV cameras for three-and-a-half hours.

Citylink said buses had come and gone during the evening without the pensioner approaching them for aid, and that there had been a service the following morning that could have taken him to the airport in time.

Mr Stewart explained that he had been confused to find himself at Halbeath and disorientated by the dark and storm and said Citylink's suggestion that he should have approached a disembarking passenger and begged to use their phone had simply not crossed his mind.

The pensioner, a retired master butcher, also claimed he'd already been told by the first driver he approached that none of the buses stopping during the remainder of the evening could take him to his destination.

Citylink said that there were other buses that could have taken Mr Stewart onwards, but that he 'disappeared' from their CCTV footage at the station

He said: 'I was supposed to be on my way to spend the festive period with friends in Malta but instead the driver just dumped me in the middle of a storm at Halbeath.

'It was freezing cold and the whole place was in total darkness.

'The strap on my holdall broke, wrapped around my ankle and tripped me up. I had a cut on my nose and thought I'd broken it.

'The wind was horrendous. The trees were bending like they were rubber and the wind was tearing through the covered stance.

'I went round the back to get out of the wind, found an open bin and crawled inside to wait out the night.

'That's how it happened. Why on earth would someone make that up?'

Thankfully Mr Stewart made it to Malta after Citylink helped arrange replacement flights out of Edinburgh Airport

He said that despite enjoying his holiday the entire incident had left him with a sour taste and he is considering further action.

A spokesperson for Scottish Citylink told MailOnline Travel: 'We are very sorry for the difficulties Mr Stewart experienced on his journey to the airport. As soon as we were made aware of his situation, we immediately took steps to put things right. 

'We booked and paid for a return flight to Malta, as well as taxi transfers to and from the airport, to ensure he could spend Christmas abroad with his friends as planned.

'We have investigated the incident in detail and established there was an error by the driver on this journey. The service was operated by a third party company on our behalf and we have made clear our concern to the operator.

'However, we would like to make clear that CCTV footage of the park & ride facility on the night in question does not show anyone approaching the recycling bin store and also contradicts other claims made by Mr Stewart. 

'Several vehicles can be seen arriving and leaving the site during the time he was in the sheltered bus stances at the facility and we are not clear why he did not seek help from other drivers or passengers during this time. 

'Mr Stewart also left the park and ride facility several hours before his flight was due to depart and did not use an early morning bus service which would still have allowed him to get to the airport in time for his departure.'