ASBESTOS caused the death of an elderly man, an inquest heard.

It is thought he breathed in the fibres when he was a machine worker in London in the 1950s. His brother-in-law who worked in the same factory also died of cancer caused by asbestos.

John Blake, who lived in Westerleigh Nursing Home, Corsica Road, Seaford, died in June 2009 due to mesothelioma, an aggressive type of cancer which has no cure. He was 86.

A post-mortem examination found asbestos fibres in his lungs. Asbestos can remain in the lungs for years, only causing cancer years later.

Mr Blake and his brother-in-law both worked for a London firm which made tanks and pressure vessels. It is believed asbestos was used in their construction. 

Mr Blake worked for the company for 10 to 12 years, leaving the firm, which was then based in Greenhithe, Kent in 1958 - before the dangers of asbestos were fully understood.

Mr Blake’s son Peter, who lives in Newhaven, told the inquest, held at Eastbourne Coroners’ Court on Thursday (January 7), “His brother-in-law worked there for longer but it was the same period of time.”  The coroner, Alan Craze, recorded a verdict of death caused by industrial disease. After leaving the firm, Mr Blake worked at Ford Motors. He was a widower with two childrenhttp://www.eastbourneherald.co.uk/seaford/Man-killed-by-asbestos.5978640.jp