A FORMER deep-sea diver from Denmead died as a result of industrial disease, an inquest was told.

The coroner’s court at Winchester heard that George Lock, 61, of Denmead, died as a result of working with asbestos in the 1970s.

The married father-of-two went on to become one of the first people in Britain to qualify as an industrial diver, performing underwater welding for North Sea oil and gas companies. But it was Mr Lock’s work on building sites in Portsmouth that ultimately led to his death, the court heard.

At the time of his death on September 15 from mesothelioma, Mr Lock was being cared for at Rowans Hospice, Purbrook.