A GRANDFATHER died of Legionnaires' disease only days after a dip in a jacuzzi at one of Scotland's top golf and leisure resorts.

Bosses at the luxury Piperdam complex, near Dundee, were yesterday fined ?120,000 after admitting responsibility for the death of Eddie Warnes in 2008.

Forfar Sheriff Court heard legionella bacteria had been found in the hot tub and two shower heads at the lodge in which the grandfather-offour had stayed.

His family have launched a civil action against Piperdam - but it emerged in court that the company is uninsured for his death.

If the claim is successful, damages could top ?1million and threaten the resort's future.

Eddie's daughters, Emma, 40, April Bunn, 35, and his partner of 20 years, Rosemary Powell, 54, travelled from their homes England to attend the hearing at Forfar Sheriff Court.

Fighting back tears after the hearing, Emma said: "You can't put a figure on a life but that was a joke.

"Instead of celebrating at the surprise party we had arranged for him, Eddie's 60th birthday was spent in a coma in intensive care.

"All 10 members of our family were exposed to the legionella bacteria. This could have caused 10 deaths - and no doubt many more from visitors.

"The loss has been unbearable. Life will never be the same."

Emma revealed that Portugal was Eddie's favoured destination but the family chose Scotland after cancelling plans to go to Praia da Luz, where three-year-old Madeleine McCann had gone missing a year earlier.

She said: "We didn't feel comfortable taking the kids after Maddie's abduction, so we opted for Piperdam."

Eddie and Rosemary fell ill a week later. Rosemary recovered but Eddie died at James Paget Hospital in Norfolk.

Piperdam, whose turnover was ?3.67million last year, pleaded guilty to a lack of suitable and sufficient risk assessments and lack of a safe system for managing and controlling of the risks from legionella bacteria.

The court heard boss Phil Mulholland, 56, discounted the threat of legionella because all the systems on the site were new.

He refused to comment as he left court yesterday.

Symptoms of killer in water

Legionnaires' disease is usually contracted by inhaling bacteria-infected water droplets. It can't be passed from person to person.

Symptoms are similar to pneumonia, including a fever, sweating, severe headache, shortness of breath, pain in the side of the chest, muscle pain and a cough that is dry or with thick, greenish mucus.

Most people exposed to the common bacteria do not fall ill