AIREDALE hospital has been forced to pay out after a former cleaner died from as asbestos-related illness.

Vanda Johansson-Corcoran, a cleaner at the Steeton hospital from 1978 to 1981, was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma in 2002.

Mrs Johansson-Corcoran died recently, but her family continued to fight for compensation and this week was awarded a five-figure sum against West Yorkshire Strategic Health Authority.

Paul Webber, of Irwin Mitchell, the law firm acting on the family's behalf told Manchester High Court that Mrs Johansson-Corcoran had spent time cleaning rooms within the boiler house in the hospital where there were heating pipes lagged with asbestos.

From time to time the asbestos became damaged and flaky. She claimed she was exposed to the asbestos and contracted the illness as a result.

The authority contested the claims, saying that although they were aware of asbestos within the building, the levels were well within the recommended safety limits.

Mr Webber argued that the Government's recommended safety limits relating to exposure to asbestos were "supplied merely as a threshold for organisations to stay below to avoid prosecution" and that levels should never have been relied upon as a safety guide."

He also claimed the hospital was lax in ensuring the asbestos covered pipes were kept in a good state of repair.

A spokesman for the West Yorkshire Strategic Health Authority said: "We would like to express our sympathies and applogies to Mrs Johansson-Corcoran's family. The advice to the NHS was that the level of asbestos at Airedale General Hospital was extremely low and well below the guidelines set by Her Majesty's Factories Inspectorate at that time.

"We had not believed that the NHS contributed in any way to the illness. However, the courts found that we lacked duty of care and we express our sympathy and apologies to Mrs Johansson-Corcoran's family.

Janet Crouch, deputy chief executive of Airedale NHS Trust said: "This case refers to asbestos levels in the boiler room at the hospital more than 20 years ago. Very low levels were recorded at this time, but this asbestos was removed in 1990."

She also expressed sympathy and apologies to the family.

Mrs Johansson-Corcoran's husband David said: "Vanda was a lovely woman who worked hard all her life. She suffered greatly when she was diagnosed with mesothelioma because she knew it was fatal.

"She was keen that, once she died, we continue her fight for compensation, so would be pleased that this day has finally arrived."