Mr Evans, famous for his book The Horse Whisperer, and his wife Charlotte were staying with her brother Sir Alastair Gordon-Cumming and sister-in-law Lady Louise on their Altyre Estate near Forres.

All four were taken to Dr Gray's Hospital in Elgin 12 days ago after eating the fungi they picked in a nearby wood.

They were later transferred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary where they are expected to stay until next week.

James Long, who has been a friend of Mr Evans for 40 years, lives in Devon near the author and his wife.

He said: "I visited them on Sunday and Monday.

"They are responding very well to treatment, walking round the ward being sociable and sharing jokes with the other patients."

"They were put on dialysis very quickly, this is the hospitals' first case of this poisoning for 30 years."

Mr Long praised staff at both hospitals for acting promptly.

Mr Evans' agent AP Watt said: "On Sunday (August 24) they became ill and on Monday, they were admitted to hospital in Elgin.

"It was established that amongst the mushrooms they had eaten, there were examples of a rare and highly toxic variety called Cortinarius Speciosissimus. The toxins attack the kidneys in particular.

"On Tuesday, Nicholas and Alastair were transferred to the renal unit at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. Charlotte and Louisa were transferred there on Wednesday.

"They have been given dialysis and other forms of treatment to support their kidney function and have responded well.

"A family friend who visited them this weekend said they were all four walking about and were in a cheerful and positive frame of mind.

"They are all extremely grateful for the rapid and effective intervention provided by the National Health Service."

A spokesman for NHS Grampian said yesterday that the four patients were in a stable condition.

Mr Evans, a former journalist, shot to fame after Robert Redford turned his unfinished novel The Horse Whisperer into a film.

The book has sold over 15 million copies worldwide.

A spokeswoman for the Food Standards Agency warned the public not to eat wild fungi unless they were absolutely certain they were safe.

She said: "Wild mushrooms are most plentiful in autumn. It is very easy to get the identification of mushrooms wrong and the Food Standards Agency advises that it is important to make sure you know exactly what type of mushroom you are gathering. Never eat wild mushrooms if you are not sure of their identification.

"If you do go foraging only take what you need so that there is enough of the plant left to reproduce.

"Under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act it is illegal to uproot any wild plant without the permission of the owner or occupier of the land.

"It is also illegal to pick, uproot, collect the seed from, or sell, any of particularly rare or vulnerable species.

"The current list can be found on the Joint Nature Conservation Committee website."

h.lawson@northern-scot.co.uk

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