A retired lorry driver needed a lifesaving operation after falling victim to the County Durham salmonella outbreak.

Father-of-four Brian Hume, 66, of Flint Hill, near Stanley, is one of 93 confirmed cases of the bug that is thought to be linked to meat bought from Robson's Fresh Food in Stanley.

He is recovering in Durham's University Hospital after undergoing an emergency operation last week to clear a blockage in his small intestine that developed after the infection took hold.

His family say they are awaiting the outcome of investigations into the outbreak by public health officials before seeing if they can take legal action.

Mr Hume, who has also been diabetic for more than ten years, fell ill some days after eating a piece of chicken bought from the store, which was closed down by Derwentside Council on Thursday July 29.

His wife Doreen, who did not have the meat, said that he suffered from vomiting and diarrhoea.

"He has been in hospital for two weeks. At first he saw his own doctor and we thought it was just an upset tummy. He went back a second time and they took a sample.

"He was then taken seriously ill in the middle of the night and he was taken into hospital. By the lunchtime they had got the results from the sample and it was salmonella. We got the shock of our lives.

"On Wednesday night at 10pm they had to carry out surgery to remove a blockage of his small intestine _ they reckoned the intestine glued itself together with all the sickness and diarrhoea.

"If he hadn't had the surgery that night it was quite serious _ they had to do it to save his life. They don't operate at that time of night for the hell of it.''

Mrs Hume said the illness had left her husband severely dehydrated and he was unable to eat because of the blockage. He is currently receiving nutrients and fluids from drips and has lost a lot of weight.

"It is very serious and nasty and there could be long-term effects afterwards. We don't know yet.

"He is not out of the woods yet. We don't even know if the surgery has been successful.

"At the minute all I'm concerned about is Brian but as soon as we have turned the corner I will look into the possibility of legal action. He has suffered enough.''

Daughter-in-law Angela Hume said: "There's nobody around here that I have spoken to who doesn't know someone who has been affected. Somewhere along the line someone is responsible.''

Mr Hume is one of two people in hospital because of the outbreak.

As well as the 93 confirmed victims there are a further four suspected cases and the outbreak control team investigating the incident say the number of infections could rise as people come forward for testing.

"Investigations are ongoing into the possible source of the outbreak but our findings continue to support a possible link with Robson's Foods in Stanley,'' said team chairman Dr Deb Wilson.

Anyone who develops severe diarrhoea or has it for more than 48 hours should call NHS Direct on 0845 4647 of their GP out-of-hours service.