A retired pub landlord who was 'held hostage' by a Turkish hospital for weeks after falling ill on holiday without insurance was forced to pay £25,000 to be allowed to go home.

Malcolm Stocker, 68, began suffering from an upset stomach two days before the end of a two-week trip to Marmaris with his girlfriend Jane.

He was admitted to the Ahu Hospital, where doctors said he was suffering from pneumonia and put in him an induced coma with a medical ventilator for two weeks.

But when the grandfather recovered, the hospital refused to release him until his family paid the first half of the £49,000 medical bill they said he had racked up.

His distraught children said that getting a lawyer helped them to reduce the bill to £25,000, and they launched a fundraiser to help pay the 'extortionate' sum.

It raised more than £17,000, with the family picking up the remainder of the bill, and after more than a month of 'hell' Mr Stocker is now home in Exmouth, Devon.

His son Lee, 42, said: 'It is a huge relief for dad to be back home. It has been an absolute nightmare not knowing what was happening one day to the next.

'The cost of it is just ridiculous, it feels like the hospital was just making up figures. I employed a lawyer and he got it down from £49,000 to £25,000. 

'It is extortionate. It has been said that the hospitals there like to overcharge foreigners five times the amount, I don't know how they get away with it.'

'Everyone who donated is absolutely amazing. Without all the help and support of the people who donated we would not be here right now.' 

Mr Stocker's daughter Emma-Jane also thanked those who donated and said her father would still be in Turkey without their help.

Mr Stocker and his partner flew to Turkey on May 7 for a two-week break.

Due to several pre-existing conditions, he was refused medical insurance for the trip but still decided to go knowing he was not covered for an emergency. 

Just two days before he was due to fly home, Mr Stocker fell ill with a stomach bug and was admitted to hospital on May 19.

He was severely dehydrated and his sodium and potassium levels were found to be dangerously low.

A chest X-ray showed he had pneumonia and he was placed in a medical coma and intubated for two weeks, before being brought out of it. 

It was then his family were informed of the rising medical bill. 

Emma-Jane said she had heard reports of other foreign patients being unnecessarily sedated in Turkish hospitals to increase the medical bills.

She said during their ordeal: 'It is like they are holding him hostage and won't release him until the first £20,000 is paid. They won't give us an itemised bill or any paperwork. It seems like it is all made up.'

Ms Stocker, who works as a medical secretary, flew out to see her father with her older sister Kerry-Ann, 37.

She said few staff at the hospital spoke English and they had not been granted access to any of his doctors.

Lee, a taxi driver from Weymouth, was determined to stay by his father's side and spent six-and-a-half weeks with him in Turkey, with his employer Weyline kindly paying for his hotel.

After flying back to Britain, Malcolm stopped off at the Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester for a check-up before returning home to Exmouth.

Lee added: 'Dad is doing ok. He still doesn't feel well and is struggling with mobility after seven weeks in bed.

'He's got a bit of a way to go still and we're booking doctor appointments for blood tests and things to find out exactly what's going on.

'It's been a headache but we're so glad to be home.'

Emma-Jane said: 'If anything comes from this, we hope this raises awareness. 

'Please never travel without insurance and find yourself in this situation. Spare yourself weeks of hell and battling!'