A Kent man is "lucky to be alive" after being airlifted from a cruise and spending three months in hospital suffering from Legionnaires' disease.

Frank Standen was cruising around the Cape Verde Islands with his wife, Patricia, when he began to suffer with headaches, a high temperature and tiredness.

The 84-year-old became increasingly unwell as the cruise, went on. Despite the best efforts of paramedics and doctors on board the MS Black Watch, and staff at a hospital in Cape Verde, Mr Standen was airlifted from the cruiser and placed in intensive care.

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The Tunbridge Wells resident was unconscious for three weeks in a Las Palmas hospital and tests confirmed he was suffering with Legionnaires' disease - a serious lung infection which is usually caused by breathing in small droplets of water contaminated with the bacteria.

Mr Standen, of Rustwick, spent seven weeks in the hospital abroad before transferred to Sevenoaks Hosptial, where he spent a further five weeks.

Mr and Mrs Standen, 83, instructed expert travel lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the cause of the illness suffered while travelling on-board the Fred Olsen operated cruise, which left Southampton in November 2011.

Video: Frank Standen was airlifted from the cruise ship

Now the firm has received an out-of-court five-figure settlement from Fred Olsen Cruise Lines Limited - just days before the case was due to go to trial.

Mr Standen, a former insurance broker, said: “I feel really lucky to be alive but the whole experience of the cruise, being airlifted from the ship and spending so much time in hospital was absolutely dreadful and really shook me up.

“Myself and Patricia did not get to enjoy our cruise and instead of being at home with my family over Christmas I was in hospital in a foreign country. The whole experience has been absolutely terrible for all of us.

“I’m delighted that we have now received a settlement from Fred Olsen and we’re looking forward to putting this behind us and moving on with our lives.”

Patricia said: “It was absolutely terrifying to see Frank so ill on the cruise and rushed into intensive care in Las Palmas. Thankfully he pulled through, but I will never forget how scared all of the family was when he was in hospital.

Clare Pearson, an expert international personal injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, who represented the couple, said: “This was an extremely traumatic and worrying experience for Frank and Patricia and the last thing they would ever have expected when booking a cruise was to have one of them fall so ill that they need to be airlifted by helicopter to hospital.

“Legionnaires’ disease is an extremely serious disease and can, in some cases, lead to fatalities. We are delighted to have secured Frank and Patricia a settlement from Fred Olsen Cruises but it is disappointing that the cruise operator denied liability and waited until just before the case was due to go to trial to agree to settle.

“Hopefully the couple can now put this horrendous ordeal behind them and look forward to the future."

A spokesman for Fed Olsen Cruise Lines said: "We are very sorry that Mr Standen was seriously unwell in 2011. As soon as his symptoms were discovered our ships doctors and nurses did everything possible to ensure he received the best treatment. They quickly identified that Mr Standen would need to be taken to hospital and the ship arranged for a helicopter evacuation.

"Despite thorough and extensive testing there is no evidence to suggest that he contracted Legionnaires disease on board our ship. No other guests or crew were found ill on this or any other subsequent cruise.

"We do not accept liability for Mr Standen’s illness. Sadly, even though we deny liability, history has shown that sometimes making an out of court settlement is more cost-effective for the company – avoiding lengthy and costly proceedings in court.

"At Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, the health, safety and well-being of all our guests and crew is paramount, and we believe that our systems for preventing the spread of illness on board our ships are amongst the best within the industry."