HE was the whistleblower who sparked a probe into asbestos exposure at hundreds of council homes in Southampton.

The plumber who claims he was “sacked” for his honesty today stood by his decision to reveal all to safety inspectors.

Breaking his silence for the first time since the story involving the potentially deadly dust unfolded, Stefan Sebestyen, 40, said: “It’s disgusting that people were not told”.

Tenants of more than 100 homes in Maybush at the centre of the concerns, first raised last summer, were kept in the dark until the Daily Echo last month revealed an internal memo which detailed “serious” health and safety breaches.

Connaught, the contractor responsible for the work refused to comment on the reasons for Mr Sebestyen’s removal from the job. A Health and Safety Executive investigation following the disclosures is continuing, but the HSE says it has so far found “no major concerns” about the way the work was carried out.

Mr Sebestyen, who was paid £13.50 an hour through an employment agency to refurbish bathrooms and kitchens for contractor Con-naught, claims he was taken off the job after he spoke to council safety officers. He said he had been ripping up tiles and smashing toilet cisterns, which he said he was later told contained asbestos, without training or any safety precautions. “There was dust everywhere,” he said. “We never wore masks. We were never given masks.” He said some tenants were present while the work was carried out. “They were breathing it in with us,” he said.

Mr Sebestyen added: “The tenants should have been told. They should have been kept out until the asbestos was removed.”

He said it was two and a half months before Connaught staff were put on a half- day course at Redbridge Hill fire station on “safe working with asbestos in buildings”. He said that after the training course, workers had to call in specialist teams to remove materials containing asbestos.

Alarm Mr Sebestyen, from Ports-mouth, raised the alarm with a council safety inspector during a site visit.

The secret safety memo later revealed that the council had al-ready been concerned that no requests had been made by Conn-aught for surveys showing asbestos-riddled homes, while risk assessments and training records were unavailable to inspect. Mr Sebestyen said the following day he was told by his supervisor and a Connaught manager that they knew he had spoken to the council and was not wanted on-site. His employment agency told him they had found him another job.

Mr Sebestyen, who is married with a seven-month-old son, said he was concerned for his own health after his asbestos exposure.

The council said its investigations into the “uncontrolled” removal of floor tiles and cisterns uncovered no risks to the health of its tenants. Tory council leaders, who were not informed, have ordered an inquiry into the scandal.

The council declined to comment on Mr Sebestyen’s dismissal claims.

A spokesman for Connaught said: “Connaught has a policy of not commenting about individual members of staff or their circumstances as we regard any information relating to staff as private and confidential.”

Charles Gilby, from Hampshire’s Health and Safety Executive, said it appeared from the evidence there had been no need to report the incidents as the levels of possible asbestos exposure were not sufficient to cause death, major injury or other damage to health.