A MAN who worked in Abingdon’s MG factory died because of asbestos he inhaled during his employment, his inquest found yesterday.

Kenneth Kerby, 68, died at his home in Bath Street, Abingdon, on July 19.

His inquest, at Oxfordshire Coroner’s Court, heard he left school at 16 and in 1961 started working at the MG factory as a mechanic.

In a statement Mr Kerby prepared with his lawyer before his death, he said he was exposed to asbestos dust from brake linings. He left the factory in 1964 and spent 30 years as a self-employed decorator.

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Mr Kerby’s GP, Dr Katharina Winkel, said he was diagnosed with mesothelioma – a type of cancer that can develop in the tissues covering the lungs or the abdomen – in January 2013 after experiencing shortness of breath.

Assistant coroner Nicholas Graham said: “In this case I will draw a conclusion of industrial disease. He was exposed to asbestos during his work life and died of mesothelioma.”

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