THE widow of a former councillor who died of asbestos-related cancer is suing a council

Anthony, or Tony, Westgarth, of Leadgate, near Consett, County Durham, died aged 69 in 2011 just days after being diagnosed with mesothelioma, the aggressive cancer of the lung lining that is caused by exposure to asbestos dust and fibres.

Father-of-one Mr Westgarth, a member of the former Derwentside District Council at one time, told his wife Ann that he was exposed to asbestos while a joiner for the old Consett Urban District Council between 1968 and 1969 and at John Roxby Surtees Limited, where he worked from 1971 to 1973.

Specialist law firm Irwin Mitchell has launched legal proceedings against Durham County Council, which took over from the urban district and Derwentside councils and has admitted a breach of duty, and John Roxby Surtees Limited, which is no longer trading.

Mr Westgarth was responsible for removing and making replacement asbestos soffits for local council houses and regularly cut asbestos boards with hand saws and fixed them to houses using nails.

At John Roxby Surtees Limited he refurbished old prefabricated buildings.

Isobel Lovett, a specialist industrial disease lawyer at Irwin Mitchell’s Newcastle office, said: “Mesothelioma is an aggressive illness which causes a significant amount of distress for victims like Tony who worked in environments where asbestos dust was commonplace.

“Sadly, many employers fail to act to protect their workers from the consequences of exposure to asbestos, despite knowing how dangerous it is.

“We hope that by issuing court proceedings we can finally secure justice for Tony’s widow and son so they can begin to accept their loss.”

In October 2011 Mr Westgarth died of a heart attack related to his mesothelioma and the pressure it was putting on his lungs.

Mrs Westgarth, 68, said: “My son and I have really struggled to come to terms with the loss of Tony.

“His deterioration in such a short space of time came as a shock to us and we feel completely lost without him.

“We hope that with help from our legal team at Irwin Mitchell we will finally gain justice for Tony so we can honour his memory after losing him so quickly and in such a terrible way.”

A county council spokesman said: “As these are live legal legal proceedings it would not be appropriate to comment on this case.”