"I KNEW something was wrong when my Dad could only name three of the four golf majors."

Mike Howarth's father was 63, 6ft 3ins and a keen golfer but missing a step caused him to jar his back.

Just days later he was in a high dependency unit in Royal Bolton Hospital.

Mr Howarth's father, Andrew Duckworth died about two weeks after he jarred his back because of the hidden killer sepsis.

Mr Howarth said: "We were best mates more than father and son. His mum survived him, at the time she was 85, he was her eldest it broke her."

Mr Duckworth went to hospital after jarring his back in May 2014 and was given strong pain killers but three days later he was delirious said Mr Howarth.

He said: "He wasn't himself.

"I knew something was wrong when my Dad could only name three of the four golf majors.

"He was admitted to Bolton hospital on a Thursday."

Due to a bank holiday weekend Mr Duckworth was unable to get a scan for a few days leaving his sepsis undiagnosed.

Mr Howarth, 38, from Horwich, said: "He didn't get a scan until Tuesday.

"He'd had it for nine days. The hospital told us they had found a huge amount of bacteria.

"Balls of bacteria and pus at the bottom of his back."

Mr Duckworth was placed in the high dependency unit where he did show signs of improvement and was moved out of the unit. However he deteriorated rapidly and died the next day said Mr Howarth.

He said: "He was in hospital 12 days, that was it."

Since losing his father Mr Howarth has committed to raising awareness about the killer condition, which claims more lives in the UK every year than bowel, breast and prostate cancer combined.

On Friday Mr Howarth, a life-long Bolton Wanderers fan ­— thanks to his father ­— will be shaking buckets along with his brother, James, and other volunteers to raise money for UK Sepsis Trust.

At half time during the Aston Villa game Mr Howarth hopes to deliver a speech to the crowd about the dangers of the condition, which affects 250,000 people a year, how to spot it and why time is so crucial.

Mr Howarth said: "With my Dad they didn't get it in time. The key thing is the timing. It's critical. If you catch it quick you can treat it.

"People should just ask: 'Could it be sepsis?'"

UK Sepsis Trust says 140 people every day die because of sepsis which is an overreaction by the body to an infection. This causes the body to attack its own tissue and organs.

The charity is on a mission to raise awareness of sepsis to stop it killing one person every 12 minutes.

UK Sepsis Trust says spotting the condition in adults can be done using the acronym SEPSIS:

Slurred speech or confusion

Extreme shivering or muscle pain

Passing no urine (in a day)

Severe breathlessness

It feels like you’re going to die

Skin mottled or discoloured