A warning has been issued to tradespeople all over the UK to be on guard when it comes to exposure to asbestos, especially those working in electrics after a retired electrician from Sunderland was diagnosed with an asbestos-related cancer.
John Teasdale was diagnosed with mesothelioma in September 2013 after suffering from back pain and breathlessness and was told that it was most likely caused from exposure to asbestos during his career as an electrician.
The 66-year-old has now instructed legal firm Irwin Mitchell to investigate further to see when he could have potentially been exposed to the deadly substance during his career.
He said: I spent a lot of my professional career putting cabling in service ducts and ceiling spaces where the pipework or boilers were lagged with asbestos which I had no choice but to breathe in on a daily basis as I had no protective clothing.
It was a big shock to me when I was diagnosed with mesothelioma and it has left myself and my family devastated as to what the future holds for me.
As a tradesman, I was never warned about asbestos and the potential health risk it causes, so it never crossed my mind that it would be a problem all these years later.
I was looking forward to a long and happy retirement after working hard all of my life.
A Government compensation scheme for those exposed to asbestos began in 1979 and most claims are on policies dating back to the 1960s and 1970s.