THE widow of a Dalton man who died of asbestos-related cancer is urging employers to put safety first after lawyers secured her a settlement in relation to her husband’s death.

Former shipyard joiner Peter Cain died aged 82 around seven months after he first developed symptoms of mesothelioma - a form of terminal lung cancer linked to asbestos exposure.

Mr Cain’s mesothelioma was the third time he had contracted an industrial disease because of asbestos exposure while working at Barrow-based Vickers Armstrong and several of the company’s successors, including BAE Systems.

Solicitors firm Irwin Mitchell had previously supported the father-of-three and grandfather-of-three after he was diagnosed with lung disease, asbestosis, having also been diagnosed with asbestos related pleural plaques years before.

It has now been confirmed that his widow Mayworth Cain will receive a six-figure settlement.

It will help cover the cost of the medical treatment towards the end of Mr Cain’s life. As part of the settlement Irwin Mitchell also recovered costs for St Mary’s Hospice in Ulverston, which cared for him before his death.

Following the news, Mayworth, 77, of Dalton, is using Workers’ Memorial Day and its theme of ‘dangerous substances: get them out of the workplace’ by reminding employers of the huge risks that asbestos can pose.

He was diagnosed with mesothelioma at the end of 2015. He died in July 2016.

Mrs Cain said: “Peter may have died in 2016 but asbestos cast a shadow over his life many years before that when he was first told he had pleural plaques.

“It was terrible watching him suffer in the final months of his life. Towards the end he was just like a bag of bones. He wasn’t the loving and caring husband and dad we had known for years.

“We all miss Peter terribly and there is not a day goes by where we don’t think of him.

“Asbestos is a truly awful substance and it is shocking to think how freely it was once used in so many different work environments.

"The dangers of the material can never be underestimated and it is vital that current employers never ignore the risks it can pose.”

Workers’ Memorial Day is on Sunday, April, and is said to be a day to ‘remember the dead and to fight for the living’ by paying respects to those who have died as a result of their employment. The day campaigns to improve health and safety standards in the workplace, and increase protection in place for employees.

According to statistics from the Health and Safety Executive, Barrow has the highest rate of asbestos-related deaths in the country.

Bob Pointer, the former chair Cumbria Asbestos Related Disease Support, said he was a supporter of Workers’ Memorial Day.

He said: “The problem is that lots of people do not get the right advice.

“All types of asbestos are bad and some people think it won’t get to them but then it does.”