A Bradford man who won a £20,000 payout after contracting hepatitis C from contaminated blood is backing a campaign for compensation by relatives of others who have died of the disease.

More than 1,000 families whose loved ones died after being given contaminated blood products by the NHS are still fighting for compensation.

Money has already been paid from a Government fund to relatives of sufferers who died after August 2003, following a campaign. But 1,203 families have received nothing.

Father-of-two Stephen Stubbs, of Sorrin Close, Idle, contracted hepatitis C following transfusions for the genetic blood disorder haemophilia.

The former Beckfoot School, Bingley, pupil discovered he had the potentially fatal disease about a decade ago, after he was given a blood derivative known as Factor 8 during a series of treatments.

Mr Stubbs, 56, is now backing the campaign by the Haemophilia Society for retrospective compensation payments. He said: "I have a lot of sympathy for the families of those who have passed away because of this.

"They deserve the money as much as I do because they have suffered along with the person who has died.

"The main aim of the campaign is for the Government to accept that it made a mistake in giving people blood products that were infected and also to provide more money for the families of those that have gone and left them behind."

Mr Stubbs was paid £20,000 by the Government after it announced the Skipton Fund in 2004, to compensate those who had contracted hepatitis C. In total 4,670 people with haemophilia became infected with hepatitis C, 1,200 of whom also contracted HIV.

He is now providing evidence to an independent public inquiry, headed by former Solicitor General Lord Archer of Sandwell QC, which is currently investigating the disaster. It is expected to report in the coming months.

A spokesman for the Haemophilia Society said it was hoped the Government would agree to pay out to families once the report was published. Chronic viral hepatitis B and C affects 500 million people, about one in 12, worldwide. It attacks the liver, often leading to cancer or cirrhosis.

e-mail: marc.meneaud@telegraphandargus.co.uk

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