LESLIE Hadrell, like thousands of railway workers, went to work as a means to an end.

He and his colleagues relied on the workshop for their living, and although it was hard physical work, they were rightly proud of the end product engines that made Swindon famous.

Now the surviving workers and their families are facing the results of their loyalty. Mesothelioma, a cancer caused by asbestos dust, has become so widespread that it has become known as the Swindon Disease.

Until recently the disease was almost a dirty word. Until the Advertiser intervened there was no memorial to the workers who have suffered. Leslie Hadrell's family knows that he worked for British Rail.

His friends and colleagues know he worked for British Rail. Today we have printed on our front page photographic evidence that he worked for British Rail.

Yet because his widow cannot produce the right kind of documents, she cannot claim what she deserves.

Mr Haddrell gave the best part of his life to British Rail, and eventually he gave his life.

Now it is time to cut through the legal excuses and do the right thing by paying up.