A NORTH Yorkshire pensioner at the centre of an asbestosis compensation wrangle has died before his bitter dispute could be resolved.

War veteran Ted Bradley, 75, of Hawthorne Lane, Pickering, survived action at El Alamein and the D-Day landings only to spend his final days in an armchair and hooked up to a 24-hour oxygen supply.

It is believed Mr Bradley's only contact with asbestos came in the early 1960s when he worked as a labourer/foreman at the then Flamingo Park at Kirby Misperton.

But his attempts to pursue a compensation claim were hampered by his inability to prove who the Flamingo complex's insurers were between 1961 and 1967 when it was run by the Yorkshire Zoological Society Ltd - different from today's owners of Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo.

Mr Bradley was eligible for a modest sum from the DSS, payable to those in cases where insurers cannot be traced.

But his solicitor, Toby Conyers-Kelly, of Denison Till, says the amount was "a drop in the ocean" compared with what he should have received.

Now his son, Bert Bradley, of York, aims to continue the case in the hope of helping Mr Bradley's widow Daisy, who suffers from chronic bronchitis.

He said: "It was very frustrating that, even in his final days of suffering, he did not get the satisfaction of compensation.

"When he worked at Flamingo Park he didn't wear protective clothing or anything. They just weren't told of the dangers in those days.

"He had a hell of a battle on his hands and he died after nothing had made his life easier."

Mr Bradley, who lived all his life in Pickering, will be buried on Saturday in the town's cemetery.

A Health and Safety Executive spokesman stressed today any asbestos still on the Flamingo site would not pose a danger unless disturbed.

He added that asbestos was widely used in products such as insulation in homes and was dangerous only if the asbestos particles became airborne.

Melanie Gibb, marketing manager at Flamingo Land Theme Park, said: "We are very sad to hear that mr Bradley has died, all our sympathies go to his family.

"However, we do not feel we can comment on the practices of Flamingo Land's previous owners."

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