A SITE manager diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease is appealing to former colleagues after instructing lawyers to investigate his exposure to harmful asbestos dust and fibres.

Father-of-three Barry Fitzpatrick, 61, worked for a building company at sites across Yorkshire, including Airedale Hospital.

He said: “We worked on a variety of buildings, from council offices to hospitals, and from schools to supermarkets. The apprentices did a lot of the ripping out of fittings and fixtures. I was just covered in dust doing those jobs.

“I remember a job at Airedale Hospital. I was drilling, sawing, screwing and fitting asbestos sheets. This released asbestos dust which I breathed in.

“At another job at a hospital in Bradford I had to remove asbestos pipe lagging from pipes leading to a large boiler. We were covered in asbestos dust all day.”

He was employed for five years by a Bradford-based company called Thompson & Co. Mr Fitzpatrick, who is from Skipton, joined Thompsons in 1972 as an apprentice ripping out and re-fitting properties.

He is being helped by legal firm Irwin Mitchell. Fay Marshall, asbestos-related specialist at the firm, said: “This is an example of the dangerous impact asbestos exposure can have, with true consequences only becoming apparent decades after contact with the harmful material.

“We'd be grateful to any of Barry’s former workmates who may be able to shed light on the presence of asbestos at jobs Barry would have been a team member on.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Fay on 0113 394 6826 or e-mail Fay.Marshall@IrwinMitchell.com