A holidaymaker struck down with salmonella food poisoning on a nightmare Nile cruise has won a five-figure payout.

Mathew Easton, 41, became ill with severe diarrhoea, sickness and abdominal pain on the last day of his week-long four-star cruise through Egypt.

Now tour operator Thomson has admitted liability for the civil servant's food poisoning.

Mr Easton, who still suffers symptoms of gastric illness, said he was shocked when his GP confirmed he was suffering from salmonella food poisoning on his return.

He said: "I was really excited before the holiday and the fact Thomson rated it as a four-star cruise made me expect a high level of service and quality of food.

"This wasn't the case. Some of the food seemed to be left out for long periods of time and some of the cutlery and crockery in the restaurant was not clean.

"I heard passengers complaining they were unwell and I thought I'd managed to keep sickness at bay. It absolutely ruined my last day.

"I have continued to suffer from the effects of my illness but am pleased I can now draw a line under the successful legal proceedings."

The exact five-figure settlement sum has not been revealed by travel law specialists Irwin Mitchell, who successfully acted for others who also become ill last summer after staying on board the same Thomson ship.

The firm has now secured an admission of liability from the tour operator and money to cover Mr Easton's loss of earnings, pain and suffering.

Amandeep Dhillon, a travel law expert at the firm representing him, said: "There is simply no excuse for not having basic health and safety measures in place to protect holidaymakers, be it in hotels or on cruise ship."

Mr Easton said the £600 holiday had been great until his illness, which he attributes to eating a piece of "strange-tasting" battered fish.

Soon afterwards, he suffered severe sickness, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and sweats.

The flight home was "horrendous". Despite being sat next to a toilet, he was still caught short, a scenario he likened to "an embarrassing disaster".

"I was never well until the end of November," he said. Constant severe stomach cramps, diarrhoea, intense headaches and sweats led to tests and a diagnosis eventually being made through his GP.

At the most extreme moments, he said: "I really felt like I was going to die."

Salmonella can lead to serious complications and ultimately prove fatal.