Ref. 25654-09A WOOTTON Bassett man has been awarded £6,000 after working with asbestos for more than 30 years without any protection.

Michael McCarthy, 59, of Laburnam Drive, was employed as a plumbing and heating engineer with Birming-ham-based AR Hancox and installed industrial pipe work in various breweries, factories and dairies, including the former St Ivel site.

He also worked in Swindon and across the South West.

But he was never alerted or protected from the deadly asbestos fibres he came into contact with and now has pleural plaques in his lungs.

Pleural plaques is the most common type of asbestos-related illness and is a non-malignant disease caused by inhalation of asbestos fibres that scar the pleura which is the thin membrane lining the lung and chest cavity.

Mr McCarthy lives with the threat of developing severe lung cancer or mesothelioma the so-called Swindon Disease because of its prevalence among former railway workers in future years.

When Mr McCarthy, who now runs his own plumbing and heating service, brought the action against his former employers he knew that it would not be an easy case because the company was no longer in existence.

He said: "I installed new boilers and removed lagging in a number of places, mainly dairies, across the area, but was given no protection at the time. When we stripped the lagging we didn't always know asbestos was there.

"I started this action about four years ago and this provisional payment means that if anything happens to me at a later date the company will settle.

"The pleural plaques on my lungs could develop into cancer, although it doesn't affect my day-to-day life at the moment. Asbestos is such a dangerous thing and people are now starting to realise this."

Swindon-based solicitor Brigitte Chandler, of Thring Townsend, acted on behalf of Mr McCarthy and has become one of the leading industrial illness solicitors in the South West.

She has represented several relatives of mesothelioma sufferers across the borough and has succeeded in securing compensation for families whose relatives were exposed to asbestos dust.

Ms Chandler said: "It was difficult to find the appropriate insurers for the company going back to 1962 when employment started.

The company, which disbanded 15 years ago but was re-formed for the case, initially denied liability, but on July 1 this year they agreed a Consent Order, which will enable Mr McCarthy to come back to court for further damages if he develops more serious illnesses from his exposure to asbestos.

"We're now seeing a new wave of complainants.

"In the past we have traditionally dealt with railway and shipping workers, but I anticipate that within the next 10 years we will see more people like plumbers and electricians who were exposed to asbestos in the 1960s and 70s come forward.

"Mr McCarthy's case took several years to complete, but after our perseverance we managed to succeed. It's important for him because he knows he is at risk and he has seen workmates suffer from the same condition."