CONTACT with asbestos contributed, but did not cause a Hampshire man’s death, an inquest has heard.

Ronald Rowe, 87, from Bramley Crescent, Southampton, died from lung disease but signs of asbestos were found and were likely to have come from his time working as an apprentice at Thornycroft, in Woolston decades ago, Southampton Coroner’s Court was told.

Coroner Keith Wiseman said as the contact with asbestos was not the ruling factor in Mr Rowe’s death, he had to record a verdict of “death by natural causes contributed by asbestos exposure”.