A FIT and active pensioner who was surrounded by asbestos for 50 years nursed his poorly wife until he died as a result of industrial disease.

From 1941 to 1991, Tom Brindley worked a International Combustion, in Sinfin Lane, Derby, where he cut up asbestos sheets used to lag ducting for power stations.

Derby and South Derbyshire Coroner's Court heard how he also used to handle asbestos powder, mixing it with water to make a paste for the lagging.

In a statement read out in court and made before his death, Mr Brindley, of Watson Street, in Derby, said: "The ducting was in 20ft long sections and had to be lagged with asbestos. We did it in a number of different ways.

"It would arrive in sheets and I would have to cut it up with a saw, line it up with bolt holes to clad it to the ducting. It would also arrive in bags as powder and I would rip open the sacks and scoop it out before mixing it with water and making into a thick paste.

"There were no fans or ventilation and it wasn't until the late 1970s or early 80s we were provided with face masks. We were totally unaware of the dangers of being exposed to asbestos."

Mr Brindley, 83, took a two-year break from working at International Combustion when he served in Palestine with the Royal Army Service Corps, between 1946 and 1948, for his national service.

He and wife Annie have two daughters – Catherine White, 53, and Janette Woodside, 45, of Matlock Road, Chaddesden.

Speaking after the inquest, Mrs Woodside said her father looked after his wife as she fell ill. She said: "He always looked after mum, even when he was ill himself, which is testament to what a great man he was."

Son-in-law Grant Woodside said that, despite his illness, Mr Brindley kept his large garden in impeccable condition. He said: "Since Tom died I go round and mow the lawn and it takes me two hours. I don't know how a man who was so ill could manage it. He was so fit, active and fiercely independent."

Mr Woodside said his father-in-law was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a type of lung cancer most commonly caused by exposure to asbestos, in October last year, but chose not to tell his family until earlier this year.

He died at the Royal Derby Hospital on May 13.

A post-mortem examination on his body found a tumour in the lining of his lung that had spread to his heart and lymph nodes.

His cause of death was given as bronchial pneumonia caused by mesothelioma due to "significant exposure to asbestos".

Paul McCandless, assistant deputy coroner, said: "Mr Brindley's extensive work history with asbestos leaves me with no hesitation to return a verdict of death by industrial disease."