A 90-year-old man who worked as a boilerman in the 1960s had been exposed to asbestos in his working life, an inquest has heard.

Herbert Gribble, from Nelson, was responsible for the running and making of boilers, a job which often meant he had to climb inside the vessels which were thought to be lined with asbestos.

He worked at various mill sites throughout Nelson during the 60s his daughter said, making it difficult to pin down where or when he had been exposed to the lethal mineral.

An inquest was launched into the death of Mr Dribble after he died at the Royal Blackburn Hospital in February of this year, where he had been admitted for shortness of breath.

At the time he was treated for an infection which initially improved, but doctors then believed the pensioner contracted pneumonia.

Despite treatment by a team of doctors, the father-of-five died on February 23.

At the time of his death his treating doctor believed that while his cause of death may well have been pneumonia, there was evidence to believe that asbestosis could have been a contributing factor.

A CT scan which took place in 2013 revealed plural plaques were found in his body and this combined with his history of exposure to asbestos during his working life meant the doctor could not rule out the affects the asbestos may have had on his body.

Because of these factors a post mortem was authorised and an Inquest was opened.

A statement from Mr Gribble's daughter, Yvonne Mcnamara, read: "He had a history of working at various mill in the Nelson Area as a boiler man, responsible for running and making different boilers.

"He was a smoker, but hadn't been since 1976. In the past when we spoke about why his chest was bad he thought it may have been down to his smoking, but also due to the fact he used to have to climb inside of boilers to clean and maintain them."

The inquest also heard how Mr Gribble had worked in a number of locations as part of a team which removed old boilers and installed new ones.

The older versions would have been lined with asbestos, it is believed.

A post mortem examination was carried out at the Royal Blackburn Hospital by Dr Al-Mudhaffer, who offered a medical cause of death as bronchopneumonia.

But due to a chest X-ray which revealed inflammation to the chest and given the CT finding, Dr Al-Mudhaffer could not rule out asbestosis and consequently said: "In my examination, asbestos bodies were identified, which would indicate asbestosis."

Residing that asbestosis would have been a contributing factor to his death, Coroner Richard Taylor said: "It appears as though it is not clear when or where during his working life he was exposed to asbestos, but there is no doubt on balance that he was, given his working history and the finding of the CT scan.

"Herbert Gribble died on the 23 February 2018. He was exposed to asbestos during his working life, but when or where that occurred cannot be more clearly ascertained."