Mr Kenneth Gates (73), of Sycamore Avenue, Burnley, was diagnosed with lung cancer in November and died in March.

His wife, Iris, told the hearing he had regularly worked with asbestos lagging while covering pipes at Michelin in the 1970s.

She added that until his diagnosis, he had always been in very good health but the former cigarette and cigar smoker began to feel ill on holiday in Spain last summer.

Dr Zuhair Twaij, consultant pathologist at Burnley General Hospital, who performed the post-mortem examination, gave the cause of death as bronchial pneumonia, caused by lung cancer.

He said there was some level of asbestos damage and this - and the smoking - had contributed to his death. He added: "It is difficult to tell which had more of an effect but asbestos is four times more cancerous, in its effects, than smoking."

Mr Richard Taylor, East Lancashire Coroner, recorded a verdict of death due to industrial disease. He said: "Mr Gates was someone who was very heavily exposed to asbestos from the 1970s onwards and I have no hesitation in recording a verdict of industrial disease."