Barry Greatorex returns to his job as a project manager with a freight company today after recovering from swine flu.

Mr Greatorex, 43, was confined to his home in Kestrel Close, Chipping Sodbury, after becoming the first person in England to develop swine flu without having been to Mexico.

He developed the symptoms after being in the same office for just half an hour as a colleague who had just returned from a holiday there.

He was given the anti-viral drug Tamiflu and was allowed out of quarantine last Thursday. He said: "I wanted to make sure it was out of my system before going back to work.

"We did go out to Asda and I picked up a local paper and I was on the front page. You do feel people are looking at you but most people won't remember any of this by the end of next week. It will be good to get back to normality."

He said his illness started with a fever and aches, which lasted 48 hours, and then he had a runny nose, followed by a cough. He said: "It was not as bad as flu that other people have talked about. Perhaps I've proved that man flu exists.

"It really wasn't that bad but I think the Health Protection Agency did the right thing. They acted swiftly and everyone I came in contact with was given Tamiflu."

His wife, Fran, 46, will resume her job as a childminder from tomorrow and son Jamie, 13, went back to Chipping Sodbury School today.

Downend School, which was closed after a pupil tested positive for the virus, is due to re-open today.