TWO Dorset pensioners who died from a rare form of cancer had worked in jobs that brought them into regular contact with asbestos fibres, inquests at Bournemouth heard.

Patricia Morgan, of Christchurch, 73, had worked as a secretary at the London Asbestos Company in 1961-3.

She kept sample bags of asbestos in her desk drawer, where she also stored her handbag.

In a statement before her death, she said she was given a piece of asbestos to feel, and had to go to the warehouse to fetch samples. At no time was she provided with protection or given any warnings.

In March last year, she was taken to hospital and diagnosed with mesothelioma, an incurable cancer in the membrane that lines the chest cavity and lungs.

Trevor Pitman, of Queen’s Park, Bournemouth, died from mesothelioma and bronchial pneumonia this March at the age of 92. He was an engineer in the Merchant Navy during World War Two at a time when asbestos lagging was used in many ships.

After the war, he joined General Accident (now Aviva) as an engineer and surveyor, carrying out inspections in many buildings with asbestos. Mr Pitman said he was never given any protective gear or warnings.

District Coroner Sheriff Payne recorded verdicts that Mr Pitman and Mrs Morgan both people died as a result of developing industrial disease after being exposed to asbestos.