AN ex-butcher has accepted a £250,000 payout from Medway NHS Trust after botched care resulted in his leg being amputated.

Ian Watts, 65, of Cooling Road, High Halstow, who has diabetes, was admitted to Medway Maritime Hospital with an infected little toe.

Huge impact: Amputee Ian Watts with his wife Susan

But by the time Mr Watts was discharged, his left leg had been removed from below the knee.

His remaining leg developed an infection and was only saved from amputation by treatment at another hospital.

Mr Watts said: "I was devastated at losing my left leg and concerned about the impact this would have on my future.

"I was absolutely terrified of losing my right leg too.

"It was a physically and psychologically exhausting time, and I was extremely depressed and distraught at the treatment I had received. I just wanted to die. I couldn't face living without legs."

Mr Watts now uses a prosthesis and requires help around the house from his wife, Susan, who suffers from multiple sclerosis.

He said: "The amputation has had a huge impact on the quality of my life and that of my wife."

The former butcher can no longer enjoy once-treasured activities such as bird watching and golf, because he finds walking very difficult.

Mr Watts was initially admitted to Medway Maritime Hospital in July, 2004, after months of pain in his toe.

Doctors at the Medway hospital insisted the only course of action was to remove the toe, but amputation proved ineffective as severe pain developed in his foot. The section of his left leg below the knee was removed after the condition of his foot deteriorated.

On his way to the operating theatre his blood sugar levels had been allowed to fall so low that he lost consciousness.

After the operation, while bedridden, Mr Watts noted a "state of disarray" on the ward, and recalled that nurses had nearly give him the wrong medication.

A pressure stocking was applied to his right leg so tightly that a blood blister developed.

After being discharged, an ulcer developed on his right foot and he was admitted to East Grinstead Hospital, where amputation was prevented by a second opinion and a nine-hour operation.

A spokesman for Medway NHS Trust said: "Mr Watts' claim was settled in March 2010 without any admissions of liability.

"The trust extends its sincerest sympathy to Mr Watts for the distress that he has suffered and hopes that he will continue with his recovery."