Cruise ship Britons in hospital

The cruise has been cut short and is due back in Dover on Monday

Seven elderly Britons are being treated in hospital in Sweden after showing symptoms of Legionnaires' disease while on a cruise ship.

A spokeswoman for Fred Olsen Cruise Lines said they fell ill with "pneumonia-like symptoms", but the exact cause has not yet been confirmed.

The passengers, who are in their 70s and 80s, are said to be in a stable condition in a Stockholm hospital.

The ship, the Black Watch, is due back into Dover on Monday.

It is returning two days earlier than planned as a precaution and will be cleaned to destroy any potential infection.

The ill passengers are expected to remain in hospital for several days. Six are UK residents and the seventh lives in Portugal.

Test results

The liner, which has more than 750 passengers and 329 crew, was on a 17-day trip to the Baltic.

Swedish officials are awaiting the results of tests to determine if the holidaymakers caught the illness from water on board.

The cruise operator said in a statement: "Fred Olsen regards the health and safety of its passengers and crew as the highest priority and will take all steps necessary to eradicate all trace of the bacteria should it be found anywhere on the ship."

Last year, another Fred Olsen Cruise Lines ship, the Black Prince, was hit twice within weeks by a winter virus.

Symptoms of Legionnaires' disease include muscle aches, tiredness, headaches, dry cough and fever, leading on to pneumonia.

It can be treated with antibiotics.