A ST Michael's Hospice patient died of mesothelioma almost 40 years after he was exposed to asbestos at his workplace, an inquest was told.

Herefordshire coroner David Halpern recorded that William Ronald Miller died of bronchial pneumonia caused by the tumour as a direct result of industrially-related exposure to asbestos.

Mr Miller, of Northwick Close, Worcester, had begun work as an engineer at Metal Box in the city around 1950.

In July 2002, the 77-year-old saw his GP, complaining of pains on the left side of his chest and shoulder.

A scan showed abnormalities and he was diagnosed with the tumour and treated with drugs and radiotherapy.

Mr Miller's wife of 52 years, Jean, said that when her husband became ill he told her he had been exposed to asbestos early on in his career.

"He did say that he had been using asbestos while at Metal Box. He was cutting it in the 1950s. Syndanio was a name he mentioned," she said.

A representative from Crown, Cork and Seal, the successor to Metal Box, confirmed the company was not able to locate Mr Miller's employment details.

A former colleague of 30 years, Norman Hills, from Worcester, worked with Mr Miller in the electrical fitting department. He confirmed they had worked with Syndanio, a material containing asbestos.

"Ron was one of those responsible for cutting the material resulting in a lot of dust. No face masks were worn at that time," said Mr Hills.

The coroner said Mr Miller died on May 19, 2003, and a post-mortem carried out by Hereford pathologist Dr Frank Mcginty confirmed the mesothelioma.

"With the evidence I have heard here it seems likely that Mr Miller came into contact with asbestos during his work life and not through any other course. Generally speaking, the exposure to asbestos is something that happened 20 to 40 years ago."