A SWINDON railway worker died from asbestosis decades after working with the hazardous material, an inquest has heard.

William Pearson, 68, of Station Road in High-worth died in August 2004 at the Great Western Hospital from the effects of asbestosis.

During a short inquest at Swindon's Central Police Station, Wiltshire coroner David Masters, read out statements made by Mr Pearson's widow, Janet Pearson.

She told the inquest that Mr Pearson had had a number of jobs from 1953 to 1958 where he had never worked with or been exposed to asbestos.

In 1958 he was taken on in the Great Western Railway works where he first worked as a labourer on boilers.

He would routinely climb into the boilers, which had asbestos around the inside, to remove the heater tubes.

He later worked in the G-shop and the maintenance shop before working with the steam crane gang where they would unload boilers at the back of the A shop,

But even with the crane gang, Mr Pearson would also be handling asbestos as he attached crane chains to components.

Mrs Pearson said: "In 2000 he became breathless. It affected his life-style and he was diag- nosed with asbestosis in 2002."

After hearing the evidence, Mr Masters said: "I'm satisfied with the evidence that death came about because of the effects of this condition.

"It occurred over a period of time from 1958 through to his retirement in 1986 but we cannot be sure when."

The coroner recorded a verdict of death due to industrial illness.

There have been numerous cases of asbestosis and illnesses as a result of the effects of asbestos recorded in Swindon.

Many have been the result of exposure to the deadly material at the Great Western Railway Works.

Last year, Brigitte Chandler, a solicitor from Old Town specialising in industrial disease, said she believed thousands more people in Swindon could be at risk from asbestos-related diseases.

Anthony Osborne