A Fife pensioner has been hit by the E-coli 0157 bacteria, the second confirmed case in the Kingdom in four days.

The 78-year-old man from West Fife, who is not being named by Fife Health Board, became unwell last week.

However, a board spokesman said yesterday that his symptoms had settled rapidly after his admission to Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy.

He added: ''The man is recovering well.''

No link with the similar case involving a two-year-old boy from Central Fife has been made, but investigations are continuing.

The boy is in the Sick Children's Hospital in Edinburgh for renal dialysis and is recovering.

Dr Tim Dyke, consultant in public health medicine at Fife Health Board, said yesterday: ''We are working closely with the environmental health department of Fife Council to establish the source of this infection.'' The latest case of E-coli 0157 takes the total to six in Fife this year.