A particularly nasty infection doing the rounds in Swindon is leading to otherwise-healthy young people needing extra oxygen.

A Coleview resident spoke to the Adver after being struck down by an illness he claimed was unlike any he’d experienced before.

He said: “It’s grim. I was in A&E for about 10 hours and there were several people there who were around my age and also on fluids and oxygen.

"They ruled out Covid and flu. I've had both before and this feels worse, to be honest. A blood test revealed I had a severe chest infection and I received the strongest antibiotics available.

"I was able to go home but if my blood-oxygen level had been one digit lower, I would have been admitted onto the wards.

“Almost everyone I’ve spoken to – from out-of-hours GPs, paramedics, and hospital staff have said there’s something going around that’s affecting young people.

“The first nurse who treated my partner said she had never seen so many healthy young people getting admitted with viruses and temperatures, and nothing they’re doing is working.”

The 31-year-old had to take more than a week off work to recuperate and is slowly on the way to good health.

A Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: “We are currently experiencing the usual high volume of patients expected for this time of year, including those presenting with coughs, colds, fevers, and sore throats; which are all common during the winter months.

"Sometimes patients might need some oxygen support as part of their treatment, but this is nothing out of the ordinary and is not a sign of a new virus.

“If an individual has not tested positive for Covid-19 or the flu, then they are likely to have another winter virus such as a chest infection or common cold.

“In many cases, cold-type symptoms can be treated effectively at home with plenty of rest and water.

"If anyone is concerned about their symptoms, they should contact NHS 111 in the first instance.”

Last month, the NHS announced that norovirus and full cases in hospitals had surged to a new high over the winter, with 688 patients suffering from norovirus in the first week of February and an average of 2,226 patients with flu as 3,982 with Covid on each day during that week.