A 75-YEAR-OLD retired labourer died as a result of exposure to asbestos.

An inquest heard that William Edward Lawson, of Kingsway Home for the Elderly, Montague Way, Blackburn, had been diagnosed as suffering from asbestosis in 2000 and his health had deteriorated steadily.

Deputy coroner Carolyn Singleton recorded a verdict of death as a result of industrial disease.