LUNG cancer related to asbestos exposure is likely to claim many more lives in south Cumbria, a coroner has warned.

Robert Chapman, Cumbria assistant coroner, said such deaths are common in the area during an inquest into a Milnthorpe man who had developed mesothelioma, a type of cancer of the lung .

"It's a horrible disease and unfortunately it's one that is very prevalent in south Cumbria," he said. "There's no indication of a reduction in the number of deaths we are coming across.

"Very often, people diagnosed with mesothelioma are an age of 70 to 80 because they came across asbestos when they were very young.

"It's ongoing. We still, for many years, are going to come across people dying from it."

His warning came during the inquest of Gordon Batty, a 78-year-old man who lived at Leasgill, Milnthorpe.

He died on November 7 last year after a rapid onset of mesothelioma in his right lung.

The inquest heard Mr Batty had been exposed to asbestos dust and fibres while working as an engineer for the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) at Clarence Dock power station in Liverpool in the 1950s.

He first attended his GP surgery, Stoneleigh Surgery at Milnthorpe, during January 2017 with complaints of chest pains.

After his diagnosis, it was decided he was not fit for chemotherapy or radiotherapy, and the best option was palliative care, it was heard, and he was admitted to St John's Hospice at Lancaster for 'symptom control'.

"Mr Batty's exposure to asbestos fibres and dust arose during the time he was working for the CEGB," said Mr Chapman in his summary.

"Mesothelioma is a horrible disease which takes people very soon after diagnosis."

Mr Chapman found that Mr Batty died as a result of industrial disease.

For more information about asbestos and mesothelioma, visit the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance.