HIS talent and hard work as an apprentice at York Carriageworks resulted in him being named British Railways Apprentice Of The Year in 1970.

That achievement led to him meeting and presenting Prince Charles with a handcrafted wooden novelty box during a visit by the Prince of Wales to York.

But almost four decades later, Philip Gowland discovered his days at the factory in Holgate Road had left a deadly legacy as he developed the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma.

He became the latest of scores of former carriageworks employees to fall victim to an asbestos timebomb.

An inquest heard how Mr Gowland, who died last year at St Leonard’s Hospice, aged 58, was regularly exposed to blue asbestos dust during his years as an apprentice coachbuilder at the site between 1964 and 1973.

He wrote in a statement before his death how he had not worn any protective clothing or masks as he came into repeated contact with the dust while working in various parts of the factory, and he had not been aware of the dangers. “There was always a lot of dust in the air,” he said.

At one point, there had been partition curtains between where he was working and where people were working with asbestos, but this had not provided sufficient protection.

The inquest heard he left the carriageworks in 1973 to pursue a career as a construction engineer based at George Hudson House, but retired early because of arthritis before falling ill with the mesothelioma.

His widow, Christine, said later he had been involved in various projects, including one to install lifts for passengers at York Railway Station.

York Coroner Donald Coverdale said he was satisfied that exposure had occurred during those years and that, so many years later, it had led to him developing the cancer which caused his death.