Binman Steve Harrison claims he has been crippled with arthritis following a "million-to-one" reaction to a routine Hepatitis B jab.

Mr Harrison, 51, was given the vaccine after catching his leg on a discarded syringe while clearing rubbish from flats in Brighton.

After two weeks he developed side effects and swelling. A month later he couldn't walk, he says.

Formerly a disco-dancing champion, his condition has kept him off work for almost a year.

Health officials insist the Hepatitis B vaccine is safe although its use has been suspended in France, where clinical trials are on-going into possible side effects.

Patients being given the vaccine in the UK are not warned of potential side effects, which its manufacturers say affect less than one person in a million, because no scientific link has been established.

The father-of-two from Bevendean is living off wife Pam's income as he begins legal action against his former employers, Sita.

The accident happened in March last year when Mr Harrison and his team were assigned to clear rubbish from a block of flats in Lewes Road.

He said: "We'd refused to go there because we kept finding syringes in the rubbish but by then Sita was in trouble and panicking. We were basically told if we didn't go we'd be sacked.

"I had protective gloves and boots on but as we were leaving the block one of my mates spotted a syringe hanging out of my leg and I was rushed up to the Royal Sussex.

"I wasn't given any warning about this jab, I was just given it. No one mentioned anything about possible side effects.

"Two weeks later the swelling came up like a balloon. If I put shoes on my feet swell up, my wrists swell if I wear a watch and I can't wear my wedding ring, which really kills me. The consultant said it was a million-to-one reaction.

"I love dancing, Pam and I used to go to soul nights and discos and we'd be the first on the dance floor and the last off.

"Now I can hardly walk, I can't wear shoes and I'm in constant pain.

"My wife has to help me bathe and help me to the toilet. Without her help and the support of my sons and my friends I think I would have just walked under a bus by now.

"All I want to do is go back to work but I've been told I can never be a dustman again, which is the job I loved doing. It has ruined my life."

Mr Harrison, who is manager of Franklin Tavern's successful football team, has been keeping the pain and swelling at bay with daily doses of anti-inflammatory drugs, painkillers, anti-arthritics, steroids and indigestion tablets.

Doctors are drawing up a new treatment programme in an effort to reduce the symptoms and reverse the effects of his body's immune response to the vaccine.

Sita continued with Mr Harrison's sick pay until the contract was taken over by the city council in October.

Mr Harrison believes he is now employed by the council but officers in charge of the clean-up team were unable to confirm this.

Mr Harrison said: "The doctors are still trying to say they don't know what has caused this but since it has happened we have found so much information on the internet linking the vaccine to arthritis.

"What is absolutely gutting is that I've had my life ruined."

A spokeswoman for Brighton and Hove NHS Trust said links between the vaccine and Mr Harrison's condition had not been scientifically proven.

She said: "We are aware that sometimes viral vaccines can give rise to joint pains but they're not permanent and usually resolve without clinical intervention.

"The risk associated with a needle-stick injury such as the one Mr Harrison suffered are far greater.

"Patients are told that the injection may hurt a bit and they may ache for a few days but there is no known link between rheumatoid arthritis and this vaccine."

The Department of Health has not published research into the connection between the jab, which is given to thousands of patients every year, and this side-effect.