Prince Charles’s close friend Lord Bathurst left fighting for his life from a FLY BITE
Peer, 55, spent eight days in a coma and four months in hospital after insect attack
A PAL of Prince Charles told how he almost died after being bitten by a vicious fly – dubbed the Blanny Bomber.
Blue-blooded Lord Bathurst spent eight days in a coma and four months in hospital after suffering multiple organ failure blamed on a Blandford fly.
The 55-year-old endured six operations - including having his hip joint removed - but has finally returned home.
Lord Bathurst runs the 15,500-acre Cirencester Park estate in Gloucestershire, home to Britain's oldest polo ground, Ivy Lodge, where the Royal Family has long played.
Speaking about his ordeal for the first time, he said: "I hope my experience will highlight the terrible effects of septicaemia and the symptoms.
"Whilst my recovery will eventually be realised, I am under no illusion as to how close I was to losing my life and it is vitally important we all familiarise ourselves with the causes, so it can be identified and treated fast."
Lord Bathurst - who hosts the Vale of the White Horse Hunt every Boxing Day - was admitted to Cheltenham General Hospital on July 26 after complaining of acute joint pain and high fever.
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His wife, Lady Bathurst, the High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, said medics think he caught an infection from a deer fly or a Blandford fly.
She said: "It is suspected his infection came from an insect whose bite can cause severe repercussions.
"He became increasingly ill, and three days later, he suffered multi-organ failure and had to be rushed to the Department of Critical Care."
Lord Bathurst then spent eight days in an induced coma to allow his system to fight the superbug infection.
Lady Bathurst said her husband's "life hung in the balance" for four weeks but he eventually began to recover "against all odds".
He was transferred to a general ward in Cheltenham, before spending a month in the Bone Infection Unit at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, and then more time back at Cheltenham.
Lord Bathurst, who is temporarily confined to a wheelchair, returned home last week and will be having an operation to rebuild his hip and pelvic area in January.
His prosthetic hip was removed after it was identified as the breeding ground for the infection and he currently doesn't have a hip or complete pelvic joint.
The countess, an official representative of the Queen, praised the NHS.
She said: "It was a truly frightening time for us, and, to be honest, I don't remember much of it as I was in a state of total shock.
"But the NHS was magnificent.
"The doctors and nurses were absolutely amazing once the diagnosis had been confirmed and their care, determination and commitment, not only to my husband, but also to me personally, was second to none.
"We are both incredibly grateful and humble for all they did." The fly got its name because of a spate of bites in the Dorset town of Blandford.
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