A MAN was left fighting for life after a flesh-eating bug began devouring his body.

Del Rudd, 59, of Beresford Road, Southchurch, thought he had a boil on his groin and visited his doctor to get it checked.

To his horror, he discovered he had necrotising fasciitis – a disease that was eating into his body.

Mr Rudd was taken to Southend Hospital for life-saving surgery and was on life support for a week.

His family were told it was touch and go whether he would survive.

Mr Rudd, a housing manager in Southend, is now on the mend after the surgery in October.

He has since learned if he had delayed visiting his GP by one day, he would not have survived.

He said: “I’m a complete whitecoat phobe. I hate going to hospitals, but by the time I was admitted, I was right on the edge.

“Doctors said if I had arrived later, I probably would have died because the disease was consuming my flesh at such a quick rate.

“I feel like I’ve been given another chance. I’m no longer going to take things for granted and I’m going to live a lot more sensibly.”

Necrotising fasciitis is an extremely rare infection of the deep layers of the skin and can develop very rapidly.

Mr Rudd’s wife, Lindsay, 51, son Ben, 25, and daughter Amy, 29, kept a bedside vigil throughout his brush with death.

Mr Rudd added: “My wife thought I had died on the operating table.

“When I woke, I was confused and could hear strange voices, but I made out my son.

“I asked him what the England football score was against Moldova, and asked him when we were playing Poland.

“He told me I had missed both games and I said ‘typical, first time in years England play well and I’ve missed it.” Mr Rudd is wheelchair-bound while he recovers after being discharged from hospital in mid- November.

He praised hospital staff for the care he received on the hospital’s Balmoral Ward.

He said: “The care I received was second to none.

“The nurses were absolutely lovely and I will always appreciate the care I got.’’ Dr Patrick Harnett, who was one of the consultants looking after Mr Rudd, said: “Necrotising fasciitis is caused by a combination of bacteria, so early recognition and treatment are vital.

“I am very pleased to hear Mr Rudd is doing well and on the road to recovery.”