Plea for help in asbestos death claim

HAPPIER times . . . Frank and Marie Hird

A BELOVED grandfather who was diagnosed with "just a cough" died weeks later due to asbestos he had been exposed to decades earlier.

Jonathan Hird says his father, Frank, began working for Atlas Trading in Ashton in 1965. It was there where he was exposed to asbestos which led to him dying of mesothelioma in July 2015 at the age of 78.

Jonathan ­- who often accompanied his father in the work van he used to transport asbestos sheets ­- is now appealing for anyone who used to work with his dad to get in touch.

He said: "He was a delivery driver and one of the things he had to deliver was asbestos sheets. He told us the sheets were particularly dusty at the point of having to lift them from the pile.

"He did this job until around 1985. He then went to work in the shop as a manager. He wasn't aware there were any problems until May 2015, when he got a bit of a cough.

"My mum had been in a care home since January that year and he had been going to see her every day. He stopped going because he had not wanted to pass on his cough.

"He went to the GP and saw the nurse. She said it was just a cough. He went two weeks later and again was told it was just a cough. We insisted he see a doctor the next time and the doctor sent him for an X-ray straight away."

Jonathan said his father "went downhill" quickly after that and saw a variety of different consultants. It was one of the consultants that asked about previous exposure to asbestos. The consultant said he would have inhaled fibres delivering the sheets.

A keen gardener who spent much of his life in Coppice, before moving to Lydgate in 1999, Frank dabbled in woodwork and enjoyed coach holidays with his wife Marie.

Jonathan said his father was fit and in good health until the effects of his previous asbestos exposure took hold.

He added: "He had retired when he was 64 and used to enjoy going on holiday with mum, they particularly liked Llandudno.

"Their last trip was a year before he took ill. I think it was difficult because mum was in a wheelchair.

Appealing

"My mum had dementia.

"We hadn't been able to manage at home so she had gone into a care home.

"Dad would never miss a day visiting her.

"Eventually he moved into the home where my mum lived. She died 12 days after him."

Lawyers at Slater and Gordon, who have been instructed to handle the case by Frank's family, are appealing for people who may have worked with him at Atlas Trading.

Anyone who believes they can help should contact Madelene on 0161 383 3308 or email madelene.holdsworth@slatergordon.co.uk.