Man almost died after catching deadly disease on Jet2 package holiday to Benidorm

A pensioner fell into a month-long coma after he contracted a deadly disease during a package holiday to Benidorm.

David Marshall, 79, said he might not recover from legionnaires disease, a severe form of pneumonia, which he claims may have been caused by a faulty air conditioning unit. The retired union official explained that he had jetted off to the Spanish seaside resort with his wife, Dorothy, and daughter in law for a “much-needed break”.

But when he arrived, he was advised there was only a “skeleton staff” at his hotel due to low occupancy and found the fan in his room was noisy and dripped water. David later experienced confusion, a productive cough, shortness of breath, kidney pains, diarrhoea and vomiting.

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And when he finally made it back to England, he was rushed to hospital in an ambulance, where he was put into a coma for a month. David said he has been suffering long-term health issues since the holiday and has instructed a legal team to investigate how his illness had “changed his life”.

He said: “This holiday was meant to be a much-needed break after what had been a difficult time during lockdown. However it turned into a nightmare. My family were scared that I wouldn’t survive. It saddens me that they were put through such an ordeal while I was in a coma."

David set off for the the two-week getaway at the four-star Hotel Presidente in Benidorm on July 21, 2020, which was booked through Jet2 Holidays. But he became unwell during the second week of his trip, after he claims he noticed that the air conditioning unit in his room was noisy and dripped fluid.

Jennifer Hodgson, the specialist