A DEVESTATED husband whose wife died of an asbestos-related cancer has called for more awareness of the disease.

Brenda Foxley, 65, of Elm Grove Drive, Dawlish, is believed to have come into contact with asbestos during her working life as an accounts clerk in Stockport.

She died in Dawlish Hospital on April 11, 2011.

An inquest in Torquay heard how Mrs Foxley regularly visited a factory floor where asbestos lagging was present to deliver wage packets to staff when she worked as an accounts cleric from 1961 to 1967.

The mum of two died just five months after being diagnosed with mesothelioma at the end of 2010.

Coroner Mr Ian Arrow recorded a verdict of death by industrial disease.

Brenda's distraught husband, Bill, is calling for more awareness, particularly for those whose profession was not directly linked to the deadly substance but could have come into contact with it.

Bill, 72, said: "Brenda was a lovely woman, she was my wife and my best friend. We had been together for 48 years and married for 45 of those.

"I think many people believe asbestos only affects those who came into direct contact with it, such as removing it, but as my wife's case shows, that is not always the case.

"Brenda only had five months after she was diagnosed and she suffered terribly.

"It was a massive shock and devastated the whole family. Myself and my two children are struggling to come to terms with the fact Brenda is no longer with us."

Helen Grady, a workplace injury expert at Irwin Mitchell's Bristol office, is representing the family.

She said: "Even in the 1960s employers knew of the risks associated with asbestos and the dangers of inhaling lethal fibres.

"Mesothelioma is an asbestos-related cancer for which there is, sadly, no cure.

"Although it can take upwards of 20 years from exposure to onset of the illness, once diagnosed it can be very aggressive and painful."