Asbestos inquest held one year on

York Coroner Donald Coverdale ruled yesterday that former York Carriageworks employee Jeffrey Sanderson died of the asbestos-related industrial disease, mesothelioma.

Mr Sanderson is one of many scores of ex-employees from the former Holgate Road factory who have died over the years as a result of exposure to deadly asbestos dust in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

The inquest was delayed for almost a year because of difficulties in fully investigating his employment record.

Mr Sanderson's widow, Eileen, told the Evening Press in April that the delays meant her nightmare was still dragging on, and she was unable to put the trauma of his terrible illness and death behind her.

Mr Coverdale said then that he was not "sitting on the case", and it was essential to fully investigate details of Mr Sanderson's employment before the inquest could go ahead.

The inquest was told yesterday that Mr Sanderson, 63, of Almsford Road, had worked for a total of 37 years at York Carriageworks in Holgate Road.

In his early years there, he was exposed to deadly asbestos dust without any protection or warning of the dangers.

He told a solicitor before his death that it was only in the late 1960s that workers were told of the dangers.

Mr Sanderson worked at the factory from 1954 to 1961, and then again from 1964 until 1991.

But between his two stints at the Carriageworks, he also worked at another rail manufacturer, Charles Roberts, which later became Bombardier.

Mr Coverdale said it had now emerged that the insurers involved there were insolvent, and it would not be helpful to pursue the matter any further.

The inquest heard that, while there may have been some exposure to asbestos at the Roberts factory, about 90 to 95 per cent of Mr Sanderson's exposure had been at the York Carriageworks.

Mrs Sanderson said afterwards she still felt the delay had been a "bit unnecessary", but added: "I am just glad it is all over."

Updated: 11:03 Friday, June 20, 2003