A pensioner who survived a major heart operation died three weeks later after being struck down with a killer hospital superbug described as the most virulent seen in two decades.

Philip Hepden, 76, of Wychwood Drive, Milton-under-Wychwood, was admitted to theJohn Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, in June last year for a heart bypass and an operation to fit a replacement heart valve.

But 22 days after successful surgery he died from an ultra-resistant strain of the superbug MRSA, an inquest at Oxford Coroner's Court heard yesterday.

The Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust said deaths from MRSA were rare - it estimated only one heart patient died from the bug each year.

Prof Stephen Westaby, consultant cardiac surgeon at the John Radcliffe, told the inquest: "He was doing fine and came off the breathing machine and went down to the ward. At that stage everybody felt this was an entirely routine post-operative course."

But he said Mr Hepden then caught the MRSA bug, adding: "Every time we got him better, but the organism eventually won.

"It is an extremely rare problem. It is the only time in 20 years at the JR I have seen an organism as virulent as that, which we couldn't overcome."

Latest figures show MRSA rates at the Oxford Radcliffe Hospital NHS Trust rose between September 2005 and March 2006.

Notes by Dr Quentin Ainsworth read to the inquest revealed tests found MRSA in Mr Hepden's blood five days after the operation. Doctors prescribed antibiotics to treat the superbug, but by June 30 the situation was described as 'hopeless'.

Delivering a narrative verdict, Coroner Nicholas Gardiner said Mr Hepden died on July 1 from multiple organ failure following heart surgery that led to MRSA which was resistant to all antibiotics.

Dr Derrick Cook, consultant microbiologist at the JR, said: "Around day 18 there was a growing realisation the antibiotics used probably weren't doing enough.

"When you reach that stage any other antibiotics are unlikely to make a difference."

Drugs used to tackle the superbug worked in more than nine out of 10 patients, Dr Cook added.

After the inquest, Mr Hepden's widow Phyllis said: "There are things we never knew about his death until now, but this has closed it for us. The nurses all looked after him so much and we are pleased with how they took care of him."

A spokesman for the ORH trust, said: "We send our condolences to the family of Mr Hepden.

"Death by infection in the manner that caused Mr Hepden's death is extremely rare."