A PLUMBER who was thrown into a cupboard full of asbestos as part of an "initiation process" for his job died of natural causes, an inquest heard.

Although Charles Collier was exposed to asbestos during his working life it did not kill him, coroner Alan Crickmore ruled.

He recorded a verdict that Mr Collier, 79, died of natural causes on January 31.

After his death Mr Collier, of Bohanam House, Barnwood Road, was found with a high level of asbestos in his lungs – 312,000 fibres per dry gram of tissue.

It was clear evidence of asbestos exposure – but it was not the reason he died, the court heard.

During the last days of his life Mr Collier suspected he had the asbestos-related cancer malignant mesothelioma. In fact it was chronic obstructive airways disease and pneumonia which killed him according to experts.

In a statement to the inquest, Mr Collier's widow Joan Collier said they were married in 1951 and had two sons.

Mrs Collier said: "He was a plumber throughout his working life. He was involved in the industrial side and worked at British Nylon Spinners, which became ICI, and installed boilers at the plant.

"He told me that on passing his apprenticeship years ago part of the initiation process was to be thrown into a cupboard full of asbestos. The pipes at ICI were lagged with it and he worked in that environment every day for over 30 years. Towards the end of his working life he had signs of ill-health with high blood pressure and diabetes, and he used an inhaler.

"He was branch secretary of one of the two unions and through them went to see a specialist in Bristol. He was paid £900 in compensation in about 2000. After that his health was never any good and he thought his asbestos exposure was the reason for it all."

The inquest heard Mr Collier went into hospital as an emergency in September 2006 and a scan showed he had a thickening of the lining of the lung. He then spent from December 2006 to April 2007 in Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and in July 2007 was admitted again with a urinary tract infection.

In November 2007 he went back into hospital with fever and breathlessness and was there until the end of January last year.