A man who lost most of his penis to a flesh-eating superbug after routine surgery is taking legal action against the hospital.

Cancer patient Andrew Lane, 61, contracted the potentially fatal infection necrotising fasciitis following an operation to remove his prostate gland at Southend Hospital in Essex.

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He was left fighting for his life and, although he survived, his genitals were so badly damaged that he lost most of his penis and is no longer able to have sex.

So much diseased tissue had to be removed that it also left him with a protruding stomach, where the outer tissue had been "eaten" away.

He was forced to use a catheter and colostomy bag for two years and has had to have a special device fitted to help him urinate.