LAWYERS representing North-East asbestos victims face a court battle next week.

At stake are continued compensation payments to people who develop "pleural plaques" on their lungs.

These internal scars indicate that the patient has been exposed to significant asbestos levels and is at increased risk of developing the fatal disease mesothelioma.

Next Monday, the High Court in Manchester will begin to hear ten test cases brought by the insurance industry, including several North-East shipyard workers.

Despite compensation payments being made to claimants for about 20 years, the insurers are now arguing that the condition does not lead to other forms of asbestos-related disease.

If the insurers succeed, it could halt future compensation payments.

Ian McFall, head of the asbestos team set up by Newcastle law firm Thompsons, said: "What the insurers would like is to eradicate pleural plaque claims from the compensation system in this country."

Mr McFall added that in the cases going before the court, the employers, who are now represented by the Department of Trade and Industry, have admitted their negligence.

A DTI spokesman said: "Pleural plaques occur when exposure to asbestos leads to marks on the lung. It does not make the worker ill and there is no link between this and further asbestos-related illnesses."