A RETIRED cleaner died from her exposure to asbestos, a coroner has ruled.

Joyce Stringer, aged 89, from Beach Road, Kewstoke, died on December 14 last year in Weston General Hospital.

A doctor’s report read at Flax Bourton Coroners Court on June 20 described how she had worked at a bank in Weston in the 1960s and 1970s and had been exposed to large amounts of asbestos dust while cleaning out the vaults.

In June last year Ms Stringer was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a disease often originating from asbestos exposure, which led to her suffering breathing difficulties.

Assistant Deputy Coroner Dr Peter Harrowing said he accepted that the condition had caused her death and recorded a verdict of death by industrial disease.