Widow Hazel Cox is to continue a legal fight after her Rover worker husband died from exposure to asbestos.

Colin Cox, 58, of River View, Kennington, contracted the killer disease mesothelioma after working at the Cowley plant in the 1960s and 70s. He died on March 24.

Mrs Cox said her husband planned to sue the car giant and she would now be continuing the battle. She added: "We are still going on with this."

At an Oxford inquest yesterday, coroner Nicholas Gardiner recorded a verdict that Mr Cox died of industrial disease. And he ruled that another Rover worker, John Nosworthy, of Elton Crescent, Wheatley, died of lung cancer.

After the hearing, Mrs Cox said: "My husband's death happened so quickly - he was only diagnosed with cancer last September." The inquest heard a chilling statement written by Mr Cox after he was diagnosed. In it, he said: "I am pursuing a claim for damages for an asbestos-related disease which I contracted while working at the Rover plant in Cowley.

"I am aware that one of the causes of my condition is exposure to asbestos and the only place I could have been exposed is at Rover.

The hearing was told the asbestos, removed in the 1970s, insulated water pipes and heating ducts at the Cowley plant.

Mr Cox's statement added: "We were never provided with any special protective clothing while working there and we never received any instructions or information in regard to the hazards of working with asbestos.

"When the sunlight shone through the windows, it highlighted the thick asbestos dust in the air."

Mr Nosworthy's widow, Betty, said she was in no doubt how her husband contracted the disease.

Story date: Thursday 29 April

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