THE widow of a Bradford man who died from asbestos-related cancer only weeks after he was diagnosed is appealing for his former workmates to come forward and help find out how he was exposed to the deadly material.

Jeffrey Rushworth was 82 when he died on October 31 last year and had worked for most of his life as a shopfitter and joiner.

Now his widow, Joan, has instructed asbestos-related disease lawyers and hopes former colleagues will get in touch if they have vital information about the presence of the material during his decades of work in the city.

Mr Rushworth worked for Makins in the 1950s, before moving on to work for Charles Castles, which was also based in Bradford in the 1960s. From 1969 to 1994, he was employed by another Bradford company called Northern Design.

Mark Aldridge, a specialist asbestos lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, said: “Mesothelioma is an aggressive and incurable cancer that causes so much distress for victims such as Jeffrey who worked in industries where they were regularly exposed to asbestos.

“Unfortunately Jeffrey’s condition was diagnosed very late and he wasn’t able to provide us with full details of his working life because he was so ill.

“As a result, we are urging his former colleagues to come forward and answer the many questions that his family have about his exposure and the working conditions he endured, as well as what measures, if any, were in place to protect employees of these firms.”

Mrs Rushworth, 82, who now lives in Bridlington, said: "Jeffrey started to have symptoms in the early part of 2014 and at first we didn’t know what was causing his health problems.

" It was terrible to watch Jeffrey battle this disease, especially as we didn’t know what was causing his illness at the time.

"Having worked hard all his life, Jeffrey and I moved to Bridlington so we could enjoy the beautiful Yorkshire coastline in our retirement.

"We had no idea that there was a spectre lying undiscovered in his working history that would cut short our time together.

"By the time we learned it was mesothelioma Jeffrey only had a matter of weeks to live.

"I would urge anyone who worked with Jeffrey to come forward with any information they have so we can understand how he came to suffer this awful illness and secure justice regarding his death.”

Anyone with information about working conditions at any of the firms that Mr Rushworth was working for should contact Mark Aldridge at Irwin Mitchell on 0113 394 6757 or e-mail Mark.Aldridge@IrwinMitchell.com.