Mesothelioma, a cancer caused by exposure to deadly asbestos fibres, is still killing 20 workers each week UK-wide.

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But experts at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) say people think asbestos-related illnesses are a thing of the past and fear workers may not be taking the dangers seriously enough today.

Now they have a launched £1.2million Hidden Killer campaign targeting tradesmen who run the risk of exposure to deadly asbestos fibres each working day.

Chris Gillies, North East HSE principal inspector, said: "Contrary to what many people believe, the risks are not a thing of the past.

Asbestos-related illnesses claim the lives of 4,000 people every year more than die in road accidents.

"The most simple, but important advice is, if you are not 100 per cent certain that there is no asbestos where you are working, then don't start work. It is not worth the risk.

"Think of it as not just protecting yourself, but also protecting your family and loved ones from unnecessary heartache."

The campaign is challenging the perception that asbestos-related illness has died out now heavy industries like shipbuilding and chemicals works have been shut down.

Anyone working on a building that was built or refurbished before 2000, could be exposed to asbestos without even knowing it.

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About 500,000 non-domestic buildings in the UK contain asbestos and it remains a very real threat. 

Asbestos materials only present a risk if fibres are released into the air where they can be breathed in.

Those most at risk are contractors whose activities are likely to disturb or damage the chemical.



The new campaign is being supported by unions, employers' representatives, health charities, sufferers and victim groups. 

Disease left Syd to die in agony

Syd (his family did not want to reveal his surname) was a joiner all his working life and loved it, but little did he know that the work he was so passionate about would kill him.

He died four years ago from mesothelioma, a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos fibres, shortly before his 73rd birthday and just three months after he was diagnosed.

Despite being extremely ill herself, Syd's widow Betty, from Chester-le-Street, wants to tell her husband's story in support of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) campaign's new "Asbestos: The Hidden Killer" campaign.

Syd started work as a joiner in 1954, building Army camps on the beach near South Shields.

The camps were constructed from asbestos boards because of the shortage of wood at that time and Syd used to cut sheets of asbestos and carry them on his shoulders – with no mask or protective clothing.

He never received any training or information about the deadly substance he was coming into contact with every day.

"It was the most terrible death," recalled 74-year-old Betty.

"He was screaming in pain, the most awful scream. By the end, he was on constant oxygen and looked like a skeleton.

"Syd didn't even have the comfort of being held because it was too painful. He flinched when I touched him because he was in agony. It broke my heart watching him die."

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Mesothelioma can take anywhere from 15 to 60 years before it becomes active and starts attacking the external lining of the lungs. The majority of sufferers die within one or two years of being diagnosed.