A SWANLEY woman has been awarded £70,000 in damages after her husband died from Legionnaires’ disease contracted on board a cruise liner.

Volunteer worker and retired secretary Audrey Heath and her husband Robert Heath were on a Fred Olsen cruise to Lapland and St Petersburg in July 2007, when it was announced there had been an outbreak of the potentially fatal bacteria on the ship.

As a result the cruise ended early and the couple returned home on July 30.

However the next day Mr Heath, 77, began to feel unwell and visited his GP at The Oaks Partnership in Swanley only to be prescribed antibiotics and sent home.

The retired milkman’s health deteriorated throughout the day and prompted his daughter Julie Bennett to go to the surgery that afternoon.

But she was told her father should continue taking his medication and wait for signs of improvement.

Mrs Bennett called the surgery again the next day after her father’s condition worsened but nobody was available to talk to her.

Later that day a doctor called her back but on hearing a description of his symptoms offered no further support.

Mr Heath died at home the next day on August 3.

In December Gravesend Coroner’s Court found Fred Olsen Cruise Liners Ltd had exposed Mr Heath to Legionnaires’ disease and the two doctors he saw failed to prescribe adequate medication, respond to his worsening condition or arrange for his admission to hospital.

Mrs Heath said: “My husband was reasonably fit and healthy before we went away, and we used to enjoy regular holidays and a social life together, so to see him deteriorate so quickly after he fell ill was very traumatic.

“The doctors did not take his condition seriously.

“I feel that Robert might still be with us had doctors paid more care and attention.”

Kimberley Owen, partner at Russell Jones and Walker, the law firm which represented Mrs Heath, said: “Before he passed away, Mr Heath provided an enormous amount of support to his wife, who has health problems that limit her ability to undertake some day to day tasks.

“While the £70,000 damages will not bring Mrs Heath’s husband back, it will make it easier for her to cope with daily life and is an appropriate settlement from the three parties in this case who failed to care for her husband sufficiently.”