A soldier who served in Iraq has died after receiving the lungs of a smoker which had a cancerous tumour inside.

Corporal Matthew Millington, 31, developed an incurable lung condition in 2005 and was told he would need a lung transplant in order to survive.

He had the operation at Cambridge’s Papworth Hospital in April 2007, but was not able to breathe as easily as he was told he should.

Almost a year later, it was found that one of the lungs – which had come from someone who smoked up to 50 roll-ups a day – had a cancerous tumour. Despite undergoing cancer treatment, Corporal Millington died in February 2008.

The hospital admitted that use of immuno-supressant drugs after the transplant accelerated the cancer’s growth, but insisted that such incidents are rare.

Although Corporal Millington’s family is not seeking compensation from the hospital, anyone who feels they have not received adequate treatment should seek the advice of a solicitor in order to pursue a clinical negligence claim.