A FACTORY worker died of asbestos-related cancer only four months after being diagnosed with mesothelioma.

The widow of Gerald McNeil is now appealing to his former colleagues to provide information about working conditions at two engineering companies where he worked in the 1960s.

Mr McNeil, of Woodside, Wrose, Shipley, began having breathing problems last year but it was not until July this year that doctors in Bradford confirmed he was suffering from mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer.

He died at the weekend, aged 67, leaving his wife Sherry devastated.

The couple had been together since 1974 and had six children.

She said the whole family had been left shocked by her husband's diagnosis and sudden death.

"Our family were shocked and devastated by Gerald’s diagnosis and are struggling to come to terms with it.

"In his last few months he tried to spend as much time with our children and grandchildren as possible.

"However, he did struggle with his condition on a daily basis.

"We never knew that the work he did so many years ago would affect his life now and take him from us so suddenly."

Mr McNeil's family and their lawyer are now appealing for information about his working conditions at two firms.

The Jamaican-born family man had worked at Hepworth & Grandage, an engineering company which made pistons and aeroplane parts, in 1964-65, and at Lancashire Steel Manufacturing Company Ltd in 1966-67.

Industrial disease experts at law firm Irwin Mitchell are investigating how Mr McNeil was exposed to deadly asbestos dust.

Nicola Handley, a specialist industrial disease lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, who is representing the family, said: "Mesothelioma is an aggressive and incurable cancer which causes so much distress for victims like Gerald who worked in industries where asbestos was regularly used.

"Sadly, many employers did not do enough to manage the risks of asbestos exposure, despite knowing how dangerous it is.

"We hope that Gerald’s former co-workers will come forward to help us with our investigations. It’s important that we now help his family get answers about his exposure to the deadly dust."

Before his death, Mr McNeil recalled dusty and dirty conditions at both factories. He remembered that pipework had been lagged with asbestos.

At his time at Hepworth and Grandage he recalled large furnaces in the factory which were connected by pipes which had asbestos lagging on them.

Lancashire Steel was a large steel corporation which had two sites in Warrington and Irlam - it employed more than 9,000 employees at the time and later became part of the British Steel Corporation.

Mr McNeil worked at the site in Warrington for about six months.

Anyone with information about the working conditions at the companies should Irwin Mitchell on 0113 220 6233 or email Nicola.handley@irwinmitchell.com