A hospital has been fined £80,000 after a man who had recovered from leukemia died after contracting legionnaires' disease just days before he was due to be discharged.

After months of chemotherapy, Daryl Eyles had been told he was in remission and could plan to leave hospital when he contracted legionnaires' disease from a hospital shower head and died.

Yesterday Bath's Royal United hospital, which later admitted liability for Mr Eyles' death after an investigation found that basic maintenance of its water system had not been carried out, was fined £80,000 for ignoring safety guidelines. Judge Richard Bromilow said at Bristol crown court that the trust had been guilty of failing to comply with a series of safety guidelines when Mr Eyles died in 2004. He described the penalty as an "awful irony" because it would have an impact on health services provided by the hospital.

Mr Eyles, 37, a security guard at Bath University, was diagnosed with leukaemia after developing an abscess in August 2003. Shortly after his final chemotherapy session in January 2004, he took a shower at the William Budd oncology unit, became ill with a fever, and died a week later. A postmortem revealed he had the legionella bug in his system.

An "inadequate" risk assessment had been carried out in March 2001 which identified problem areas in the hospital's water system. But because of a lack of money, most of the recommendations were not carried out, the court heard. Investigators found bacteria had been breeding in the shower head.

Speaking outside court, Mr Eyles' widow Andrea said patients put trust in hospitals and expected them to be kept safe.