A 45-YEAR-OLD man, who was thought to have suffered exposure to asbestos, actually died of natural causes, an inquest found.

Because of his job as a metal-sheet roller, suspicions were raised David Marsden may have had asbestos-related cancer when he died suddenly on January 28.

An employee of Special Metals in Hereford for 25 years, it was thought Mr Marsden may initially have come into contact with deadly asbestos particles.

Aggressive

Medics suspected at first he had died from mesthothelioma, a lung cancer specific to asbestos exposure, but a post mortem proved this to be groundless.

Giving evidence at a Tewkesbury inquest, pathologist Dr Jonathan Christie Brown said Mr Marsden died as a result of extremely aggressive lung cancer probably due to his smoking habit.

The inquiry had heard earlier that Mr Marsden, of Chandos Street, Whitecross, Hereford, smoked between three and four cigars daily.

"He was found to have only 24,906 asbestos fibres per gram of dried lung tissue," said the doctor. "That's at a level that any one of us may have even if we haven't been exposed to asbestos. I can see no evidence to link the cancer to his occupation. It's more likely to be linked to his smoking."

Cotswold Coroner A Lester Maddrell heard that Mr Marsden had only complained of feeling unwell at Christmas, when he reported cramp-like pains in his legs.

After tests he was admitted to the County Hospital but transferred when doctors realised cancer had spread throughout his lungs.

He was moved to Cheltenham General Hospital to start chemotherapy but completed only one session before his death.

Mr Maddrell recorded a verdict of death by natural causes.