THE death of a retired builder arose from industrial disease, a coroner has said.

Gordon Ward, of Rose Hill in Brynteg, died at his home address on July 2 this year. He was 88.

Resuming an inquest into his death at Mold this week John Gittins, coroner for north Wales (east and central) read a statement from Mr Ward’s daughter-in-law Olwen Joan Ward.

In it she explained her father-in-law had worked at John Summers Steelworks, where he remained after the site was taken on by British Steel and until its closure in 1980.

In his job, he had worked in and around all 12 furnaces at the site and had come into contact with materials which were later discovered to contain asbestos, the inquest heard.

He retired at the age of 67 and enjoyed fishing and metal detecting, but in 2011 he was diagnosed with Mesothelioma - a type of cancer associated with exposure to asbestos.

Mr Ward underwent chemotherapy, then follow up appointments at regular intervals.

In late 2018, Mr Gittins said, the cancer had returned. Over the following 8 months, he experienced chest infections and breathlessness, with his health deteriorating “rapidly” in June.

The cause of Mr Ward’s death was confirmed to be Mesothelioma.

Mr Gittins’ conclusion was that Mr Ward’s death had arisen from an industrial disease.