Charlie Manning paid $500,000 for losing penis in jail

A FORMER prison inmate has been awarded $500,000 after his manhood was consumed by flesh-eating bacteria while he was behind bars.

Charlie Manning, 61, was serving a 13-month stretch at Stafford Creek prison in Washington state, US, for a boozy fight when he became sick, The Daily Telegraph reports.

The prison doctor wrongly diagnosed his symptoms as an allergic reaction to medication.

Turned out he had necrotising fasciitis - and the bacteria destroyed his penis and one testicle.

"It's been a nightmare," Manning said.

"I figured I should settle for what I could get because I just want it behind me. It's unreal. It's like something from Mars."

A prison spokesman admitted: "Not all medical judgments - whether performed in a prison or at a doctor's office - are infallible." The Seattle Times said surgeons made a replacement penis with skin from Manning's thigh.