A 101-year-old war hero hailed brave NHS staff after winning his battle against coronavirus.
Great-grandfather Keith Watson fought for his life alone in hospital after being struck down by the deadly bug.
Mr Watson is now self-isolating alone in his care home and slowly recovering from his ordeal.
His son Paul, 70, told the Mirror Online: "He is eternally grateful to the staff who have saved his life. They are real heroes.
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"It will be another 12 days before we are able to see him, but it will be the most wonderful reunion.
"We cannot thank the NHS enough."
Mr Watson, from Droitwich, Worcs, contracted Covid-19 while recovering from broken leg surgery in hospital.
He spent more than two weeks battling for life and has only been able to speak to family on the phone since going into hospital last month.
Paul compared fighting the virus to the trauma of fighting in the Second World War.
He said: "Dad is a former soldier. He has incredible strength, he's quite a trooper.
"He has had many traumatic experiences but I don’t think he’s had anything quite like this - none of us have."
Paul went on to say: "Having had surgery for a broken leg, then contracting Covid-19 didn’t really paint a very promising picture."
Though he admitted his dad's survival "does give hope for others, most definitely”.
After the war, Mr Watson went on to establish a chemical manufacturing business in the Midlands, and married wife Stella - who died around 20 years ago.
His own mother, Beatrice, described as “another fighter”, lived to the ripe old age of 104.
Paul, the oldest of three sons, said his dad is itching to get to his favourite pub The Swann Inn, Chaddesley Corbett, near Kidderminster, Worcs, once the lockdown is lifted.
He added: “I should think he will probably get a standing ovation when he walks in".
Matthew Hopkins, Chief Executive of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: “Our staff across all our hospitals are doing a magnificent job in working to put patients first through one of the most challenging periods in the history of the NHS.
"This includes frontline staff working under tremendous pressure looking after Coronavirus patients and also those working tirelessly behind the scenes to support them.
“We are delighted that Keith could be safely discharged home.
"This is a huge morale boost for our staff who are working day in day out to provide the best possible care for our patients.
“It is important that local people do everything they can to reduce the pressure on our hospitals by following the latest social distancing guidance and maintaining scrupulous hand hygiene.”
