LESS than a month's exposure to asbestos more than 45 years ago killed a former York Carriageworks employee, an inquest heard.

Terence Akrill, of Clifton Moor, York, died from malignant mesothelioma in January this year.

In a statement made to his solicitor shortly before his death, Mr Akrill, 70, said: "In about 1959 - after I left the RAF - I went to the labour exchange in York to look for work.

"They told me they had a job for me at the carriageworks. It was an eight week contract as a tamper.

"My colleagues would put raw asbestos dust in a bowl and add water. They then sprayed the insides of the carriages with the asbestos mix.

"My job was to follow behind them and make sure the asbestos was packed into all the window fixtures.

"The atmosphere was always thick with dust - it went everywhere.

"There was no extraction of the dust. I have no doubt I was exposed to asbestos for four weeks."

Mr Akrill said he was provided with overalls, which would just be piled up at the end of the day, and a paper mask. There were no shower facilities at the plant.

After only four weeks at the carriageworks, he was having difficulty breathing. He saw his doctor, who suggested he leave, which he did.

Mr Akrill spent most of the rest of his working life at the Rowntree's factory, in Haxby Road, as a packaging technologist, where he said he did not come into contact with asbestos dust.

John Hunter, Mr Akrill's consultant physician at York Hospital, said: "He had a terminal illness which lasted seven to eight months. Malignant mesothelioma is usually a cancer due to exposure to blue asbestos dust. It is my opinion that his exposure to blue asbestos has caused his mesothelioma."

Mr Akrill was in the process of seeking compensation for his exposure to the asbestos dust.

In a statement heard by coroner Donald Coverdale, Crawford and Co, the loss adjustors for the now-defunct York Carriageworks, said they were unable to comment regarding the exposure.

Mr Coverdale said: "Mr Akrill was very unfortunate as he was only exposed for a very short time. But this highlights the dangers of exposure.

"My verdict is that he died from the industrial disease of mesothelioma."

Updated: 09:25 Tuesday, April 18, 2006