A WIDOW seeking answers following the death of her husband from “deadly dust” is appealing to former Southampton dock workers for help.

Dorothy Cutler wants to hear from those who once worked alongside her late husband Victor, who died from the asbestos-related condition asbestosis.

The 88-year-old former soldier worked for several years as a lagger in the city, working for big companies such as JI Thorneycroft, Ford and Foster Wheeler at Fawley.

Having told his wife tales of how he used to work with asbestos from the 1940s to the 1970s, Mrs Cutler is looking for other workers to back her late husband’s claims of frequent exposure to the harmful dust.

Mrs Cutler said: “It is very difficult to come to terms with the sad loss of my husband to an asbestos-related condition.

“Vic told me a lot about his working life and told me about how he had to mix up asbestos lagging to insulate the ships in particular.

“He told me that it was a very dirty, messy job and also a very physically demanding job.

“I hope that some of his former work mates may be able to help the team at Boyes Turner investigate if more could have been done to protect Vic against exposure to asbestos.”

Richard Green from Boyes Turner is working on behalf of Mrs Cutler to see if there is a case to bring against any of Mr Cutler’s former employers in regards to protecting him from asbestos.

Mr Green said: “We would be extremely grateful to hear from anyone who worked with Victor during the course of his employment with J I Thornycroft, British Rail, Foster Wheeler, Harland and Wolff and Ford during the 1960s and 1970s.

“We hope Mr Cutler’s colleagues will be able to confirm his recollections of asbestos exposure and whether more could have been done to protect Victor from the deadly dust.”

Anyone with information that could help Mrs Cutler can call Mr Green on 01189 527130.