A RETIRED dock worker died as a result of asbestos poisoning, an inquest has been told.

Percy Springett, 82, from Upper Luton Road, Chatham, died on May 5 this year as a result of malignant mesothelioma, a lung disease attributed to abestos poisoning.

Mr Springett, who was married, began work at Chatham Dockyard in 1938 when he was 15, and retired in 1982, the Mid and North Kent Coroner heard.

He was exposed to the poisonous fibres when he used to spray asbestos into the cavities of submarines.