AN 89-year-old former pit worker died from industrial disease 24 years after he retired.

Acting coroner for East Lancashire Richard Taylor said a post-mortem examination on George Richard Greenwood, of Middlesex Avenue, Burnley, revealed signs of coal dust in his lungs.

William Greenwood, of Eton Close, Hapton, said his father had worked underground as a driller for all his 48 years in the mining industry.

"I remember when he was 65 we took him to Blackpool and he had difficulty breathing when we went for a walk along the prom," he said.

"He had to keep stopping.

"Down the pit there was always stone dust in the air and you were just breathing it in.

"There was no protection."

Mr Greenwood told the coroner that his father had had three heart attacks about 27 years ago and suffered from emphysema and bronchitis.

Mr Taylor recorded that the former miner had died as a result of industrial disease -- coalminer pneumoconiosis.