A severely ill 83-year-old woman who cannot walk was turfed out of a day care centre into torrential rain after a disagreement with staff.

Joan Jones, who suffers from chronic arthritis, heart problems and diabetes, was asked to leave the Drovers Centre in North Road, Holloway, on Monday last week because she refused to write an apology for insulting another service user in a dispute over sandwiches – something she denies doing.

The pensioner then had to get on her mobility scooter and make the 30-minute journey to her home, off Copenhagen Street, Islington, in one of the heaviest downpours of the year.

She said: “It was awful. I was like a drowned rat.

“I was soaked right through my clothes and my underclothes as well.

“I felt so ill the next day and the arthritis in my arms has been bad ever since.

“The worst thing is I didn’t do anything. I don’t even know the woman I’m supposed to have insulted.

“It made me feel really terrible. I’ve been coming here for 14 years and some young whippersnapper has asked me to leave.

“It’s unfair – I feel very upset and let down.”

A spokesman for Age UK Islington, which run services at the Drovers Centre, said he could not go into specifics in order to protect people’s privacy, but that everyone using the centre was asked to sign up to a code of conduct.

He added: “To help resolve incidents, we operate a ‘time-out’ policy where the code of conduct has been broken and, regrettably, in this case the requirements for ending the time-out have not been met.

“It is unfortunate that the weather was bad on the day. However, I am satisfied that staff did all they could in attempting to resolve the outstanding issues on the arrival of the complainant at the centre, and in providing time for her to meet and talk with her friends.

“We remain keen to resolve the matter so that she can resume attending the centre on a regular basis.”