THE former Dorset man who became the first British victim of swine flu has passed it onto a friend.

NHS worker Graeme Pacitti yesterday tested positive for the virus after coming into contact with football team-mate Iain Askham last Thursday.

It is the first case of person-to-person transmission in the UK.

Mr Askham and his new wife Dawn from Scotland were released from hospital on Thursday after spending five nights in isolation.

Speaking to a national newspaper, Mr Askham who studied at Bovington Middle School and the Purbeck School before moving to Falkirk in 2000, believes they caught the virus on the plane home following their honeymoon.

They came down with the symptoms of swine flu after a night out with family and friends, including Mr Pacitti, last Thursday.

He said the pair were put into separate isolation rooms at the infectious diseases unit at a hospital in Lanarkshire and had no physical contact with each other until Thursday.

Mr Askham said: “It was a very scary time because your mind starts thinking of all the possibilities. It was the longest time we have ever spent apart in our five years together.”

He added: “You try to stay calm but at the back of your mind there is the possibility that you might die.”

To date 11 swine flu cases have been confirmed in the UK.

A further case of the virus was announced by the Department of Health in the North West of England yesterday.

A pupil from a school in Gloucestershire has also contracted the virus.

l One Bournemouth School for Girls pupil who has been to Mexico on holiday has been asked to stay home, although there is no suggestion she has symptoms of swine flu.

Head teacher Alistair Brien said: “Purely as a precautionary measure I have asked a pupil who has recently been to Mexico on holiday to work at home this week.

“I understand from her parents that doctors have confirmed that according to current guidance she and others are not at risk.”