A former Huddersfield woman dying of an industrial disease has appealed for former co-workers to get in touch.

Lily Nelson, 65, who was born in and brought up in Turnbridge but now lives in Stranraer, Scotland, with her husband Bob, has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, a deadly asbestos-related cancer.

Lily, who was Lily Otty before she married, was told she must have been exposed to asbestos dust when she was younger, almost certainly at somewhere she worked.

She has been able to narrow this down to her time as a factory worker making asbestos gaskets for a firm called T A Cockin at Waterloo Mills on Old Leeds Road.

Lily said: “I remember asbestos being used to make rings for industry. I had to cut them to size and apply glue and stick the rings together. The asbestos was wet, but dried out causing dust.

“I worked for T A Cockin in early 1970 and if anyone who worked there around that time could make contact I’d be so grateful.”

Lily is being helped in her search by solicitor Kevin Johnson, a specialist in asbestos disease cases at law firm Leigh Day in Liverpool.

He said: “Mesothelioma is a dreadful disease which is almost always fatal. It develops years after the original exposure to asbestos and leaves the victim short of breath, in severe pain and unable to do even the simplest of tasks.

“It’s particularly tragic in Lily’s case because her exposure to asbestos dust was for a relatively short time in 1970. Sadly, very short periods of exposure to asbestos fibres can cause mesothelioma to develop decades later.”

Lily lived in Huddersfield until she was in her 20s. She met Bob, who hails from Scotland, when he was in the army and she was working in a forces canteen. The couple lived at various locations before settling in Scotland.

Mr Johnson said the company Lily worked for had later undergone a name change and ceased trading a number of years ago, but he said: “We have been able to trace the insurers and this is going to be dealt with through the insurance company.”

Mr Johnson added: “We need to speak to anyone who worked at T A Cockin in the late 1960s and/or early 1970s who could shed any light on how asbestos was used in manufacturing processes.

Mr Johnson said any information received would be treated in the strictest confidence.

Phone 0151 305 2760 or email ktjohnson@leighday.co.uk.