A former chemical supply worker penned a letter just months before his death describing his exposure to asbestos during his working life, an inquest heard.

Burnley Coroners Court heard that Tom Barnes died of an asbestos-related death while on holiday in Malta.

The court heard that Mr Barnes worked at William Blythe Ltd in Church for nearly a decade in the 1950s and 1960s and became exposed to asbestos during that period.

Mr Barnes was away on holiday in Malta earlier this year when he passed away on January 24, aged 73.

A post-mortem in Malta gave a cause of death of bronchopneumonia, however when he was repatriated another post-mortem was carried out and ruled he died of malignant melanoma cancer.

Deputy assistant coroner Mark Williams read out a statement from Mr Barnes at the inquest which he had provided to his solicitors in September last year – four months before his death - in relation to an asbestos compensation claim.

The inquest heard how Mr Barnes, of Sandfield Road, Bacup, joined William Blythe in 1956 after leaving school aged 15 and began as a drawing office apprentice.

In his statement, he said the chemical plant was ‘full of steam pipework lined with asbestos paste’ that had ‘dried hard on the pipes forming a skin’.

He said: “I came in contact with asbestos while working at William Blythe using asbestos rope. I got the rope from the stores and it came in a ball and looked like thick string.

“The asbestos rope had fibres which settled on my hands and clothes when I handled it. It was very dusty work and I inhaled and ingested asbestos dust and fibres as a result.

“Asbestos was treated casually and no different to any other material. I was never warned about the dangers of working with asbestos or given any training or told what to do if I encountered asbestos.

“There were no procedures laid down to follow if I came across asbestos and I was not told how to minimise the danger.”

Mr Williams said there was ‘clear confirmation’ that asbestos was in the factory at the time and ‘must have been commonplace’.

He said he had ‘no doubt’ in ruling Mr Barnes, who also lived at Rawcliffe Hall caravan park in Preston, died of an ‘industrial disease’.

Speaking after the inquest Mr Barnes’ son Phil, who is director of an upholstery firm in Accrington, said he was ‘very happy’ with the coroner’s conclusion and said he was ‘looking for closure on this’.

William Blythe Ltd declined to comment when contacted after the inquest by the Observer.