A MAN who was told by the NHS he had terminal cancer spent £250,000 of live savings on US doctors, only for them to find he didn’t have the disease.

Father-of-one David West, 70, from Corsley Heath, was told he had just weeks to live at Salisbury Hospital in October 2012 but says no biopsy was carried out to confirm he had liver cancer.

Unsatisfied with the NHS diagnosis, he travelled to America for a second opinion where doctors discovered his ‘cancer’ was a serious yet survivable heart condition.

They acted straight away on the problem but that meant he was away so long when he came back he was told he was no longer deemed a permanent UK resident.

Mr West, who has lived in Corsley for 14 years, said: “I was 65 when a doctor told me I was going to die in a matter of weeks.

“The effect that has on you is massive. I felt terrible about it and it made me very depressed.

“When it was announced I was going to die the authorities took my benefits away and even attacked my pension.”

The ex-Army engineer spent £250,000 on travel and treatment and resorted to selling his Mercedes and beloved collection of vintage motorbikes.

He's now £120,000 in debt and even faces being kicked out of his modest rental flat in Corsley as he's no longer deemed a permanent UK resident.

Mr West said that after the misdiagnosis the NHS admitted fault and paid him £30,000 compensation, which was barely enough to cover his legal fees.

“When I worked as an engineer and made a mistake I was expected to pay up as it was my fault, but the NHS have only paid a tiny amount of the £800,000 claim I put in,” he added.

A Salisbury Hospital spokesman said: "We recognise that clinicians should avoid giving life expectancy estimates to patients where the diagnosis is not confirmed.

"We are sorry for the anxiety that this has caused Mr West and have ensured that lessons learned from this have been shared with our clinical teams."

Wiltshire Council said: “The Government sets the rules around being habitually resident in the UK in order to access public funds.

"We will always work to explain the rules to individuals and have already contacted Mr West to see if there is any update on his previous situation which may change his status."