A POLICE officer based in Worcester is fighting for his life after contracting a killer bug.

The officer, who has not been identified, has been diagnosed with Legionnaires' Disease. He is in a critical but stable condition at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

"Our thoughts, and the thoughts of everyone at West Mercia Constabulary, are with this officer and his family at this worrying time," said police spokeswoman Kim Stain.

The man was diagnosed with Legionnaires' Disease at the weekend. It is not yet known how he contracted it.

"There is no evidence to suggest there is an infection at Worcester Police Station. No other police officers had displayed symptoms of the disease," said Miss Stain.

A spokeswoman for the South Worcestershire NHS Primary Care Trust said the source of the infection was being investigated by the Director of Public Health and Worcester City Council environmental health officers.

"Any members of the public and staff who have come into contact with the officer are not at risk of infection," she said.

The last known person from the county to contract the bug - a rare and potentially fatal form of pneumonia - caught it on holiday.

Ann Bristow, of New House Cottages, Bransford, near Worcester, is believed to have contracted the disease while showering on holiday in Majorca last November.

She died at Worcestershire Royal Hospital in December.

On Saturday, March 23, last year, the Evening News reported that the bacteria which causes the disease was found in the internal water system at Worcester Fire Station on Deansway.

The bacteria was also found in the water supply in the east wing of the Elgar Mental Health Unit at Worcester's Newtown Hospital during routine testing after refurbishment of the wards in July 2001.