A WOMAN whose husband died after being exposed to asbestos at work is taking a stand against the lack of compensation for victims of industrial injury.

Lillian McSherry (50), from Bradley Fold, Bury, received no money following the death of her husband Charles two years ago.

Now she has backed a national campaign to highlight the fact that asbestosis victims receive little or no Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) under the State Industrial Injuries Scheme.

Her husband died from mesothelioma, a fatal tumour on the lining of the chest and lungs caused almost exclusively by exposure to asbestos.

He had been diagnosed with the disease almost two years earlier and needed regular hospital treatment for his condition.

There had been concerns for his health after he started to become short of breath.

He did not claim any IIDB, because Lillian, who has been diagnosed with osteoporosis, would lose free prescriptions, and the couple's pension credit would be affected.

This is due to a ruling which categorises the IIDB payments as an income, affecting eligibility to means-tested benefits.

The Trades Union Council (TUC) has discovered that only one in 10 people made ill by work receive any compensation, and is launching a campaign to push for increased industrial injuries benefits.

Charles, who was 74 when he died, had worked at a weaving plant where asbestos was used when he was a teenager. He also came into contact with the material later in life as an odd-job man.

He had not been not aware of any safety precautions for asbestos and had not been told it was dangerous.

The material is the greatest single cause of work-related deaths in the UK.

Families of those who work with asbestos can also be infected if asbestos particles are brought into the home on clothes. It can take up to 40 years for symptoms to show.

The father-of-three had several jobs throughout his life, including painting and decorating, sheet metal work, and also served in the Navy.

Mrs McSherry, who lives on The Willows with her daughter Michelle (24), has joined forces with the Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group to back the TUC.

She said: "My husband died, after being ill for 23 months, with no compensation at all. It's something which should be changed for sufferers and their families. Charles wasn't to blame for his illness.

"We would have lost other benefits if we had applied for it because of the means testing, so we would have been much worse off.

"It's terrible and a disgrace that the Government take with one hand what they give with another, leaving people dying from mesothelioma with no compensation.

"There is a massive lack of services and information for sufferers and their families, especially when they need it most, which just made a bad time much worse for our family."

Tony Whitston, of Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group, said: "Asbestos victims are particularly badly affected. Most are working class men who do not have occupational pensions and rely on means tested benefits.

"They lose out because they are poor. Most asbestos victims receive little or no compensation, and this needs to be changed immediately."