Tom Ewart Smith
A BRITISH father has died after contracting salmonella during a family holiday in the Canary Islands.
Leslie Green, 70, and his wife Julie had traveled to the four-star Occidental Jandia Playa resort in Fuerteventura on October 1, 2024, to celebrate their birthdays.
However, what was meant to be a joyous occasion quickly turned into a nightmare.
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Leslie began experiencing severe symptoms, including diarrhoea and dehydration, on October 9.
Despite receiving fluids at a local clinic, his condition worsened, leading to his hospital admission.
Doctors diagnosed him with salmonella, which later developed into serious complications, including kidney failure, pneumonia, and sepsis.
He was placed in an induced coma but continued to deteriorate, and on November 4, his life support was switched off, marking the end of his four-week battle.
Their daughter, Becci, 35, flew out to be with her parents in Leslie’s final days, while their eldest daughter, Sarah, 38, who suffers from end-stage kidney failure, was unable to travel due to her own medical condition.
Julie also fell ill with salmonella on her 60th birthday, a week after her husband’s symptoms began. She was hospitalised for a week but recovered.
She has since raised concerns about the food safety standards at the resort, claiming that meals, including carbonara sauce and chicken, were often served lukewarm or undercooked.
Additionally, she claimed there were poor hygiene practices among staff, including a lack of handwashing and mixing fresh food with older dishes.
Following Leslie’s passing, his body was repatriated to the UK, and a post-mortem examination was conducted on November 18, though results are still pending.
Julie has since sought legal representation to investigate the circumstances surrounding her husband’s illness and death.
Jennifer Hodgson, an expert international serious injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, who is representing Julie, called the case ‘extremely worrying,’ highlighting that another British woman reportedly fell ill around the same time at the same resort.
Paying tribute to her husband, Julie described Leslie as a ‘kind and gentle man who adored his family’ and expressed her deep sorrow over his loss.
She is now determined to seek answers and justice for her late husband.
