A POOLE plumber who contracted deadly meningitis before spending two months in hospital, has been left with a permanent brain injury.

Martin Fletcher developed pneumococcal meningitis in July 2016 while working in London.

It left part of his brain effectively dead, from which it will never recover.

Today, after moving back to his home town of Poole, the 51-year-old is sharing his story to raise awareness of the disease­ – which can impact anyone, of any age.

"I was feeling terrible with a bad headache,” said Martin. “But I went into work anyway as a self-employed plumber in Wembley.

"My employer said I looked terrible and should sit down for 10 minutes.

"The next thing I knew, it was two weeks later and I was in hospital waking up from an induced coma."

Martin had pneumococcal meningitis, a disease which kills one in ten of those who contract it.

It often leaves survivors with life-altering after-effects.

Martin, who lived alone at the time, said: "Going into work that day effectively saved my life.

"If I’d stayed at home no one would have been around to call the ambulance.

"Brain scans have shown that I have a dark patch in my brain which is dead and will never recover."

Martin now suffers from memory loss and impaired cognitive function, making him unable to return to work.

He said: "Plumbing is all I’d done since I was 16, but I just couldn’t do it anymore.

"I would forget things and lose focus. I still struggle with basic daily tasks, like paying the bills or even remembering to eat.

"God knows where I’d be without my family. They’ve been such a help. I’m one of the lucky ones."

Martin told his story in support of World Meningitis Day, which took place on April 24.

Rob Dawson, director of communications, advocacy and support at the Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF), said: "The invisible after-effects of meningitis can be life changing.

"Survivors who suffer from memory loss, brain damage, PTSD, hearing loss and more report feeling lonely and isolated.

"Because they 'look normal' people expect them to be the same as before they fell ill.

"This World Meningitis Day we were very grateful to Martin for raising awareness of the devastating impact meningitis can have, and encourage everyone to take action to defeat meningitis by visiting www.meningitis.org to learn more."

Meanwhile, Martin said: "Before I fell ill I didn’t even know adults could get meningitis. I thought it was just something babies got.

"Now, the more I’ve read about meningitis, the more I count myself bleeding lucky.

"I might walk down the street and forget where I’m going sometimes, but at least I’m walking."