A CANCER patient who died during a drug trial hoped that the treatment would help him beat his disease, according to his family's solicitor.

Gary Foster, of Roundhills in Waltham Abbey, died at University College London Hospital (UCLH) in October 2007, after being given twice the correct dosage of chemotherapy drugs on several occasions.

Mr Foster, who was 27, entered the clinical trial in June that year, after being diagnosed with testicular cancer.

This week the family accepted around £300,000 in damages from the hospital's trust, which blamed the overdose on a computer error and said it had made changes to its procedures in the wake of Mr Foster's death.

Mark Bowman of Field Fisher Waterhouse, the family's solicitor, said: “We can confirm that a settlement has been reached in this case.

“This tragic case revealed a systematic failure in the setting up, running and monitoring of the TE23 trial at University College London Hospitals.

“Mr Foster enrolled on the trial in the hope that it would improve his chances of successfully recovering from testicular cancer.

“Unfortunately, due to the negligent treatment he received, one of the very drugs that was helping to cure his cancer caused irreparable damage to his lungs and ultimately resulted in his death.”

No-one from Mr Foster's family was available to comment.