A night porter at an Oxford college was allegedly dismissed because a manager held a grudge against him, and not because he had reached retirement age, an employment tribunal heard.

Terence Greenwood, from Ringwood Road, Risinghurst, Oxford, lost his job at Lady Margaret Hall after turning 65 when he was told he would have to retire.

However, the former RAF airman believed he was dismissed because his line manager Lawrence Le Carre disliked him and forced him to retire, when he himself stayed at the college until he was 67.

Another night porter, Anthony Garrett, turned 65 just one month after Mr Greenwood, but was allowed to stay on until his next birthday.

Mr Greenwood believed his working relationship with Mr Le Carre had begun to deteriorate after Mr Greenwood reported him to the college’s domestic bursar Bart Ashton following an outburst from Mr Le Carre over holidays.

In a statement Mr Greenwood, who had started working at the college in 2005, cited a list of incidents on which they had clashed including one where Mr Greenwood had helped a drunken student clean up after defecating in his bed.

He said: “I organised his friends to clean up his room and bed and to stay with him to make sure he was safe.

“I did not feel it was my place to report the student or embarrass him further.

“Lawrence said that it was incorrect of me to keep quiet and that it may have not been in the best interests of the student.”

Mr Greenwood had been told the retiring age for support staff was 65, but that he was able to apply to extend his working time up to an extra two years.

He said he had been told by numerous members of staff that they expected him to stay on and that personnel officer Ruby Lamboll told him that his application “just needed to be rubberstamped” as part of procedure.

But he later heard his application had not been successful.

Speaking on behalf of Mr Greenwood, James Stuart, said: “He feels that he was dismissed not because he reached the age of 65 as lots of people reach the aged of 65 and carry on going. Mr Le Carre is one of them. It wasn’t because of that, it was because Mr Le Carre had a grudge against him.”

Mr Greenwood was a popular figure with students who campaigned and formed a petition to save his job.

But before his appeal against retirement could be heard, Mr Ashton had already placed an advert in the Oxford Mail to appoint his successor.

Appearing at the tribunal in Reading on Monday, Mr Ashton said Mr Greenwood was not allowed to stay on at the college because he needed “fresh blood” in his team.

Both Mr Le Carre and Mrs Lamboll have now retired and neither were called to give evidence at the tribunal.

Representing Lady Margaret Hall, David Meredith said the college had followed protocol when it came to Mr Greenwood’s retirement and that there could have been no other grounds for his dismissal as retirement supercedes any other reasons.