A family from East Sussex may have been Britain’s first coronavirus victims, catching the virus in mid-January after one of them visited an Austrian ski resort that is now under investigation for allegedly covering up the early outbreak. If confirmed by official tests, it would mean the outbreak in Britain started more than a month earlier than currently thought. As things stand, the first recorded UK case was on January 31, and the earliest documented incidence of transmission within Britain occurred on February 28. IT consultant Daren Bland, 50, was skiing in Ischgl, Austria from January 15 to 19 with three friends, two from Denmark and one from Minnesota in America. All three fell ill on their return with classic coronavirus symptoms, and Mr Bland passed on the infection to his wife and children in Maresfield, East Sussex. A virus caused a dry cough then spread rapidly through the area in the weeks running up to the February half-term, with many local children taking time off school with illness.

A suspected infection in the resort of Ischgl was allegedly covered up, allowing Covid-19 to spread across Europe undetected

On Tuesday, Austrian prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into allegations that a suspected infection in the resort of Ischgl was covered up, allowing Covid-19 to spread across Europe undetected. Hundreds of infections in Germany, Iceland, Norway and Denmark have been traced back to the resort, in the Tyrolean Alps, by European investigators, but Mr Bland and his family are the first in the UK known to be associated with it. Like many of the European victims, Mr Bland visited the Kitzloch bar, known for its après-ski parties. The bar is tightly packed and known for "beer pong" – a drinking game in which revellers take turns to spit the same ping-pong ball into a beer glass. "We visited the Kitzloch and it was rammed, with people singing and dancing on the tables," Mr Bland recalled on Wednesday. "People were hot and sweaty from skiing, and waiters were delivering shots to tables in their hundreds. You couldn't have a better home for a virus." The Telegraph has obtained an exclusive video shot inside the Kitzloch bar, which clearly shows conditions inside the venue.

Mr Bland returned home to Maresfield on Sunday, January 19 and fell ill the following morning. "I was ill for 10 days – it was like wading through treacle," he said. "I couldn't get up, I couldn't work, it knocked me for six. I was breathless." Sarah Bland, 49, told The Telegraph: "I was then ill, and so was my youngest daughter. My symptoms were a temperature and strange flushes, exhaustion which lasted for nearly three weeks intermittently, and total brain fog. "My daughter had a temperature and persistent cough and was off school for two weeks. My eldest daughter felt wiped out for a day, but it passed quickly." The family have not been officially confirmed to have had coronavirus, but have been in contact with The Telegraph seeking help for several weeks. Their suspicions were raised after confirmed coronavirus cases across Europe were traced back to Ischgl. Although their illness was relatively mild, one of Mr Bland’s two Danish friends, in his 50s, was more seriously ill. "I think it's important we are tested to see if we have had the virus," Mrs Bland said on Wednesday. "It is partly out of curiosity, but also because it may help the authorities better understand the spread in the UK. They are meticulous in their testing in Europe." Mr Bland added: "A test for people like us would enable us to get out and help make deliveries and run errands for others."