THE asbestos timebomb has claimed another victim – a North Yorkshire man believed to have been exposed to the deadly dust more than 30 years ago.

An inquest was told Sydney Cutsforth, of Beechwood Grove, Sherburn-in-Elmet, died on September 30 last year in St Leonard’s Hospice, York, at the age of 64.

York Coroner Donald Coverdale read a statement, written by Mr Cutsforth before his death, which stated he had been a cold store erector for many decades. He claimed he was exposed to asbestos dust while working for two companies in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

He and dozens of other contractors had been hired to renovate a bacon factory in Sherburn-in-Elmet around 1978, which involved breaking material from a “white corrugated roof” and meant he finished his shifts “covered in a white dust”.

The inquest also heard that in 1980 Mr Cutsforth had worked for an insulating contractor renovating an old brewery in Luton, and had removed asbestos panels which “crumbled when we hit them.” He said that at no time was he provided with safety clothing, goggles or masks.

Mr Coverdale recorded that Mr Cutsforth had died of malignant mesothelomia, a form of cancer most frequently caused by exposure to asbestos.