Julia Murray never worked at the York Carriageworks, but her father, John Bull, was there for decades, and her two brothers, David and Duncan, also worked there.

When they returned from work, they used to bring their dusty overalls home with them. The overalls would be shaken and washed in a washhouse in the backyard.

No one had any idea they might present any risks. No one even knew it was dangerous to work at the carriageworks.

The dangers for the workers became only too apparent for David when, in 1977, he died of mesothelioma, the asbestos-related cancer of the lungs, becoming one of the first victims of what has become known as the carriageworks' "asbestos timebomb".

Now, decades later, the same illness has returned to strike the family. An inquest has heard how Julia has also died of mesothelioma, at the age of 67, and how her only known exposure to asbestos was through the overalls brought home by her brothers and father, particularly those worn by John and David, who worked as coachbuilders. A verdict of accidental death was recorded by coroner Donald Coverdale.

Meanwhile, other former employees also continue to be struck down by the deadly asbestos legacy.

An inquest is pending for Dick Turner, of Dringhouses, who worked there as a coach builder from 1958 until his retirement in 1982, and who died last year of mesothelioma, aged 84, leaving a widow.

His son, Keith, said Dick had been relatively fortunate, compared with other victims, in that he had lived into his 80s with reasonable health and fitness.

"I feel sorry for his former colleagues, many of whom never got to his age. This time last year, we went to Gran Canaria with him.

"He only started struggling last summer. He was puffing and panting. We realised there was a problem with his lungs and got the doctor out in September.

"He said there was something not right and sent him to hospital for some tests and he never came out. They diagnosed mesothelioma on October 8, and within ten weeks he was dead."

He says the final weeks of Dick's life were traumatic for him and his family. "It was terrible," he said. "It's a cruel illness."

Keith says he cannot understand how the carriageworks management allowed workers to be exposed to asbestos right through until the 1970s.

"The Government was aware there was a problem with it from the 1930s."

Joyce Sanderson, 67, of Holgate, York, feels equally strongly about the exposure of the workers to such risks. She was widowed last year when her husband, Dennis, died of mesothelioma, aged 69.

The coroner decided he died of industrial disease after an inquest heard how he worked at the Holgate Road factory for 42 years.

Joyce says her husband used to tell her how he and his mates sat on piles of asbestos material to eat his lunch. "I said to him: 'Didn't they stop you?' and he said: 'Only when lunchbreak was over.'

"They used to throw it like snowballs as well. Nobody thought anything of it."

She said it was only towards the end of his career at the carriageworks that safety restrictions were introduced. "I think it's disgusting. It's a terrible thing," she said.

Joyce says she used to wash her husband's overalls when he came home from work, and could have breathed in the deadly asbestos fibres, but is philosophical about it. "If I'm going to die, I'm going to die," she said.

Several more inquests are pending for York people whose deaths last year may have been linked to asbestos, including one for Peter Henry, 86, of Woodthorpe, York, who died of mesothelioma last year, having worked as a plumber at the carriageworks.

Another is pending for Herbert Golton, 64, of Tang Hall, who also died of the same illness last year, having worked as a pipe lagger at another York factory.

According to Howard Bonnett, of York solicitors Corries, who represented Julia Murray's family at the inquest and is part of a specialist team dealing with industrial diseases, the asbestos problem has not yet peaked, and is affecting far more than former carriageworks employees alone.

Mr Bonnett, who handles up to 250 asbestos-related cases from all over the country each year, says they include people who worked in telecommunications, scrapyards, demolition sites, public utilities and power stations.

Many involve people still alive who have developed pleural plaques - scarring of the lung tissues which carries a small chance of leading at a later stage to the development of mesothelioma.

He knew of one case of three brothers who worked in a power station.

"One is crippled by asbestosis, the second has pleural plaques, and the third is fine."

He said the peak is expected to come between 2010 and 2020, which, with the illness taking decades to develop, correlates to the maximum exposure being suffered in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

However, he stressed that people should not panic, saying many people who worked at the carriageworks may never go on to develop the most serious asbestos-related disease, mesothelioma.

Paul Cooper, a former carriageworks employee who has campaigned to ensure the asbestos tragedy is not forgotten by the people of York, said that a couple of years ago, it had appeared that the asbestos timebomb might have peaked, but it was now clear that this was not so.

Victims of mesothelioma

Julia Murray, 67, of Fulford. Died of mesothelioma last year, caused by asbestos dust from overalls brought home by her brothers and father from York Carriageworks. Verdict: accidental death. Her brother, David Bull, was one of the first timebomb victims, dying in 1977 of mesothelioma caused by exposure to dust at carriageworks.

Dick Turner, 84, of Dringhouses. Died of mesothelioma last year. Worked at carriageworks for 24 years until 1982.

Inquest pending.

Dennis Sanderson, 69, of Acomb. Worked at carriageworks for 42 years. Died last year of mesothelioma caused by exposure to asbestos dust at factory. Verdict: died of industrial disease.

Herbert Golton, 64, of Tang Hall. Died last year of mesothelioma, worked as pipe lagger in York factory. Inquest pending.

Peter Henry, 86, of Woodthorpe. Died last year of mesothelioma, worked as plumber at carriageworks. Inquest pending.

Updated: 11:42 Monday, January 31, 2005