BIRDS pecking at the asbestos roof of a cash'n carry store could have caused the death of warehouseman Anthony Jones, 57, an inquest was told yesterday.

Bachelor Mr Jones, of Ann Wicks Road, Frampton-on-Severn had never worked with or near asbestos - but was aware of the constant problem with birds getting inside the roof of the cash'n carry in Bristol road, Gloucester, the inquest was told.

His own belief that asbestos dust disturbed by the birds was the source of the lung cancer which killed him was backed up by a woman who had worked as a cleaner at the same warehouse while he was there in the 1970s and 80s, the coroner heard.

Gloucestershire senior coroner Katy Skerrett recorded a conclusion that Mr Jones' death was due to industrial disease.

Mr Jones, who is survived by three older sisters, had worked as a warehouseman from the age of 15 and was at the site in Bristol road until the business relocated to new premises in the mid-1980s.

In a statement he made last December after being diagnosed with terminal malignant mesothelioma of the lungs Mr Jones said his initial employer at the Hempsted Bridge warehouse was AFD although later other companies took over including Bookers and Nurdin & Peacock.

He was employed in goods-in goods-out and remained working on site with whichever company was operating the business, he stated.

"I remained on that site until about 1985. I cannot recall ever working with or near to asbestos myself.

"It is most likely my exposure would have been at the initial premises at Hempsted Bridge as I was told there was always a problem with birds pecking on the asbestos based roof.

"The environment was very dirty. The premises were fairly old and it was possible the pipework was lagged with asbestos. But I am not able to confirm this.

"I first started to develop symptoms of my disease in or about July 2014."

Mesothelioma is a lung cancer for which the only known cause is asbestos fibres.

A post mortem report on Mr Jones by pathologist Dr Linmarie Ludeman found he had 19,355 asbestos fibres in each gram of dry lung tissue - a level consistent with work exposure. The finding established a 'clear occupational link,' the doctor stated.

Sandra Lane, who worked as a cleaner at the warehouse, said in a statement that there were pipes high up in the building.

She said: "There has always been a problem with birds coming in. They were constantly pecking on the roof, which I believe to be asbestos-based."

The coroner said: "This was not the type of employment where you would expect to be exposed to asbestos. But I do find there is sufficient evidence that there was probable exposure so the appropriate short form conclusion is death by industrial disease.

"I acknowledge that he could not recall directly how he was exposed. It seems to have been an indirect, less obvious exposure, perhaps unlikely."

After the hearing Mr Jones' eldest sister Margaret Ball, 72, said: "The building is still standing empty now and they cannot let it - maybe because of its roof.

"He was going in and out of the building all the time because he would load goods up for customers and wheel them out to their vehicles.

“All the time this dust was floating down on him and it looks as if that is the reason he got this terrible disease years later."