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Deadly dust caused death of man who cut asbestos

By Shaun Worth

Mar 16 2005 - A NEWBURY joiner died after years of prolonged contact with sheets of asbestos which he would cut "like planks of wood", an inquest was told.

Melvin Raymond, 63, worked with the harmful substance without protective gear, during spells with Vickers Armstrong, Hedges Joinery and Stradlings in Newbury.

Mr Raymond, who was born in Cold Ash in 1941, underwent several rounds of medical examinations, including biopsies and X-ray scans, after doctors discovered fluid in his lungs in February last year.

He was finally diagnosed with a malignant tumour, mesothelioma, in October.

Mr Raymond, who lived in Derwent Road, Thatcham, died of bronchial pneumonia - caused by the tumour - at the Duchess of Kent hospice in Liebenrood Road, Reading, on February 17 this year.

His daughter Christine wept at the Reading inquest as Berkshire coroner Peter Bedford offered his condolences, before returning a verdict of death by industrial disease.

Mr Bedford said: "This is an all too sad and familiar set of circumstances.

"It's a truly horrible disease, and I'm so sorry it had to happen to a member of your family."