Almost 200 people have died from mesothelioma across Bradford in the past 28 years, new figures have revealed.

According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) 165 men and 32 women have died across the district from the asbestos-related cancer.

Last night HSE safety campaigners, as part of campaign called Asbestos: The Hidden Killer, warned that a new generation of workers are at risk unless building trades get to grips with Britain’s biggest workplace killer.

Steve Coldrick, HSE’s asbestos programme director, said: “Sadly there is nothing we can do to stem the tragic loss of workers who were exposed to asbestos in years gone by.

“But we can listen to their stories – and the one thing we hear time and again from older workers is that they were never told about the risks of working with asbestos.

“If tradesmen are not sure whether there is asbestos present where they are working they should stop and check.

“We cannot allow this hidden killer to claim another generation of tradesmen.”

MPs and unions are currently demanding that the Government responds to a consultation into compensation for sufferers of pleural plaques – an asbestos-related condition.

In 2007 the House of Lords ruled that sufferers of the condition, which can be an indicator of fatal asbestosis, were no longer entitled to compensation.

e-mail: newsdesk@telegraphandargus.co.uk