FOUR workers were allegedly poisoned by carbon monoxide gas from a faulty boiler while they were at work in Huddersfield.

Paul Wainwright, Richard McKernan, Tony Deakin and Michael Wainwright ended up in Huddersfield Royal Infirmary – ironically after working on a project for the health trust which runs it.

The men were stripping asbestos at Acre Mills at Acre Street, Lindley, when they say they were poisoned by a leaky gas boiler.

After work, each of the men, who are all from Sheffield, showered in a decontamination unit designed to protect them from inhaling asbestos dust which can lead to fatal lung cancer.

But lawyers for the men claim as they left the shower, heated by a gas boiler, they immediately began to feel ill and were rushed to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary with suspected poisoning.

Mr McKernan said: “When we arrived at the hospital they rushed us straight through A&E and put us all on oxygen and a heart monitor.

“After we had recovered, the doctor told me that the level of carbon monoxide in my bloodstream had been at 27%, when 35% is critical and 40% fatal.

“We usually spend around 15 minutes in the decontamination unit, but because we had to go through one at a time we were only four or five minutes each to save others from waiting outside.”

The four men are now suing their previous employers, Nicol UK Ltd, for physical and emotional damages.

David Urpeth, partner and head of Workplace Injuries at Irwin Mitchell, who is representing the group, said: “Employers have a duty to follow strict health and safety procedures and take the necessary precautions to ensure staff can work safely.”

The Health and Safety Executive are currently investigating the case.

A spokesman for North Lincolnshire firm Nicol UK Ltd declined to comment on the case.

The workers were employed to strip out dangerous asbestos from the Acre Mills site.

The Acre Mills site is being cleared to make way for a new car park for Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.

Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust won permission to set up the temporary car park for three years while two more are built.

Eventually, hospital bosses want to develop two permanent multi-storey car parks along with medical and support services on the 5.4 hectare site.