A father who almost died after contracting Legionnaire's disease has spoken of his nightmare ordeal.

Dave Hunt's close brush with death has prompted him to take stock of his life and he knows he is lucky to be alive.

With the support of his close family and friends Mr Hunt, 55, is now slowly recovering at home.

Mr Hunt is one of less than half a dozen people expected to develop the disease in Sussex this year.

The nightmare began for the family from Shoreham at the beginning of January.

Mr Hunt had been feeling off-colour for a few days but had put it down to the early signs of flu.

He and his wife Tina travelled to London to catch a West End show on the weekend of January 4.

But while watching the show Mr Hunt started to feel worse.

He said: "I was shaking and shivering from head to toe and I had a terrible thirst. I drank three bottles of water during the show.

"Even though I felt bad I just assumed it was a dose of flu and I would get better."

Mr Hunt a van driver, was able to carry on working for a few days after the weekend although he still felt ill.

But when he came home from a delivery early Friday morning he went straight to bed and slept right through to the following evening.

Mrs Hunt said: "We were worried because he wasn't eating or drinking anything and was becoming dehydrated. He felt cold and clammy and was sweating."

On the Saturday morning Mr Hunt was visited by his GP, who prescribed antibiotics to treat a chest infection.

Mrs Hunt said: "We have learnt Legionnaire's is extremely hard to detect. It looked like Dave had developed a secondary infection following the flu, which could be developing into pneumonia but nobody was sure.

"Legionnaire's is the last thing you think of.

"The GP said to let him know if Dave got any worse and to call for an ambulance if necessary."

Mr Hunt's daughter was keeping an eye on him on the Saturday afternoon as Mrs Hunt had to go out.

Mrs Hunt said: "She has had some nursing training and she was not happy with the way he was looking.

"He was refusing to see a doctor and insisting he would be all right but she knew something was not right. I think by that stage he was starting to become delirious.

"I called her and she said she wasn't happy so I told her to call an ambulance."

When Mr Hunt arrived at Worthing Hospital it was clear he was seriously ill.

His skin had gone purple and mottled and the tips of his fingers and toes went white as his circulation started to fail.

His lungs were already affected and now his kidneys and liver began to fail.

For Mrs Hunt, the next few hours were a nightmare.

She said: "That Saturday evening and the Sunday morning were the worst nights of my life. The doctors warned me that Dave was critically ill.

"It was just horrendous. The staff spent most of Sunday trying to stabilise him. I thought I was going to lose him. When the doctor came over to talk to me I was bracing myself for the worst."

Mr Hunt went through various tests as doctors tried to establish what the problem was.

By Monday morning, Legionnaire's virus had been detected.

Mr Hunt had also developed an infection that was starting to attack his muscle cells.

He was put on dialysis, given antibiotics to treat the virus and gradually started to turn the corner.

He said: "I don't remember much about that weekend. When I started to feel better and look around I couldn't work out where I was.

"It was like a dream. It didn't feel real at all. I had all these tubes coming out of me and it was very hard to take in."

The couple were stunned when they learned about the Legionnaire's link.

Mr Hunt said: "It was something I'd heard of and knew was very serious but I didn't know much about it and never dreamt it was going to happen to me.

"I have always been pretty fit and had no major health problems. The last time I was in hospital it was at the age of nine when I had my appendix out."

The couple have nothing but praise the doctors and nursing staff at Worthing Hospital who they say were brilliant.

Mr Hunt said: "A lot of people have bad things to say about the NHS but they were wonderful."

Now recovering at home, Mr Hunt, who has lost 2st since developing his illness, is now working on getting his strength back.

He said: "I feel very weak at the moment and get tired very easily. But I am getting better and stronger day by day.

"It has been a real shock and feels like a bad dream. It was a very emotional moment when I finally got home.

"I suppose if there is one good thing to come out of all this, it is that I don't smoke any more.

"I'm not sure how much damage has been done to my lungs and I'm not going to risk making it any worse."

Public health officials are still trying to track down the source of Mr Hunt's illness but are confident this was an isolated illness.

Mr Hunt said: "We just don't know at the moment. We have been working out what I did and where I went but nothing seems to fall into the pattern.

"I'm told the condition particularly affects males over 45 who smoke. I could have been feeling low anyway which made me more vulnerable or it could have been something else.

"It was one of those things and I'm just happy to be alive and to have got through it.

"It is something we never want to go through again."

Cases of the disease are very rare, with usually about 200 cases across the country every year.

The bug cannot be spread from person to person.

It is contracted through inhaling tiny droplets of water, often via air conditioning and water systems, and is treated with antibiotics.

For advice, call the NHS Direct helpline on 0845 4647, or via its web site www.nhs direct.nhs.uk