Asbestos caused the death of a heating engineer in Southend, a coroner has ruled.

Southend Coroners Court heard that Scriven found out he had the disease following a biopsy in 2009, before undergoing chemotherapy.


Coroner Peter Dean said: "Ronald had a history of exposure to asbestos fibres so I have to record a verdict of death by an industrial disease."


Scriven, who was born in Woodford, started working in the central heating industry at the age of 18. As a heating engineer, he would cut asbestos pipes once a month without wearing a mask and also worked with putty that had been filled with fibres. He also worked with sheets of asbestos and old boilers that were covered by the once legal insulation.


Asbestos has been banned as a buliding material since the mid 1980s, and the Health & Safety Executive runs campaigns to raise awareness of the dangers to younger tradesmen who may not be aware of the problem.