The family of a Scot who died from Legionnaires' disease following a holiday to Bulgaria has launched a legal action against tour operator Jet2.

John Cowan, 43, passed away in June following a stay at Hotel Kalofer in the Balkan nation's Sunny Beach resort.

Mr Cowan, from Hamilton in Lanarkshire, first became ill while on holiday and continued to suffer the effects of the virus until he died a week after returning home.

His mum, Marie Cowan, said: "When John came home he was feeling unwell.

"He was weak and his bones were aching.

"He basically stayed in bed most of that week - it wasn't until he started getting short of breath that we went to the GP.

"As soon as the doctor saw John he realised he needed urgent attention and phoned an ambulance which took him to Wishaw General."

Medics ran emergency tests and put Mr Cowan on a ventilator after discovering he had pneumonia in one lung. Later on that night, his kidneys stopped working and he was put on dialysis.

The following morning it was confirmed that he had Legionnaires' disease.

Ms Cowan, 63, added: "They had him treated by a medical team from Leicester but by that time he had pneumonia in the other lung as well.

"John was going to be moved to the Golden Jubilee but before the transfer he had to undergo an operation to help him breathe.

"However, during surgery he went into cardiac arrest where he was unresponsive for 30 minutes.

"John was eventually revived and taken to the Jubilee however on arrival specialists told us John had suffered catastrophic brain damage as a result of the lack of oxygen so we gave permission to turn off the ventilator and give John a dignified passing."

The causes of death formally listed on Mr Cowan's death certificate are septic shock and Legionella pneumonia.

Public Health Scotland was made aware of the outbreak after being contacted by one of the medical team from Leicester.

Mr Cowan's family have now launched a civil suit against Jet2 after discovering several other people may have been struck with the same virus at the same hotel.

The tour company confirmed a second holidaymaker passed away after returning to the UK from Bulgaria.

However, the cause of the outbreak is still unknown with independent tests taken at the hotel coming back negative.

Barry Cowan, Mr Cowan's brother, stated: "We just want answers - to know why this happened, to know it will never happen to anyone else and to know why the tour operator and the hotel have done nothing to help.

"The travel insurers won't even pay out to help us recover funeral costs - they said because John died of an illness and not an accident then it means John wasn't covered.

"It's a joke. We've no option but to take legal action when all these companies push you around."

Mark Gibson, a partner at Digby Brown Solicitors and head of the foreign and travel team, said: "We are currently investigating a claim that a man died as a result of Legionnaires poisoning at a hotel in Bulgaria but as the case is at an early stage it would be inappropriate to comment further."

A Jet2 spokesperson said: "Sadly, we can confirm that two customers recently passed away shortly after returning to the UK from holiday in Bulgaria.

"We would like to offer our heartfelt condolences to their families at this very difficult time, and we have been in constant contact to offer all the assistance and support that we can.

"The health and safety of our customers is our absolute priority.

"In response, and to support our investigation, two independent specialists were instructed to take samples from the hotel and a UKAS-accredited laboratory conducted testing of the water samples for any contamination.

"The results of all their tests were negative. We will continue to assist the local authorities in their investigations as required.

"Despite these results we have taken further precautionary measures, like other UK tour operators at the hotel.

"We have transferred all customers and all bookings for this summer to other hotels, and we have also put a stop on sales to the affected hotel for Summer 19 and Summer 20."