THE family of a Mellor man who worked on the ‘Dambusters’ bouncing bomb, is claiming damages against Woodford aviation giant BAE Systems after he died due to repeated long term exposure to asbestos.

Alan Crosthwaite was employed from the 1950s to 1984 as an aircraft maintenance fitter. He worked on many aircraft, including Lancasters and Nimrods, using asbestos tape daily and being continually exposed to asbestos dust and fibres.

Towards the end of 2003, he began to suffer from breathlessness, weight loss and extreme fatigue and died in October 2004 from industrial lung disease, mesothelioma, at the age of 78.

His daughter, Jane Hammonds, is claiming damages of more than £50,000 from Hawker Siddeley Aviation Ltd, BAE Systems plc and BAE Systems (Operations) Ltd.

She described her father as a fit man who continued to enjoy gardening into his old age and only suffered from the normal effects of growing old.

Along with twin sister Helen Walker, she took care of her father and drove him to doctor and hospital appointments.

Specialists discovered a shadow on his lung and biopsies revealed it was mesothelioma.

"We all made the link between his illness and working with asbestos," said Jane, 48.

"Dad loved his work. It’s an irony that something he loved so much probably ended up killing him.

"We only found out at the funeral that he worked with the bouncing bombs on the Lancasters as he had to sign the Official Secrets Act.

"He also went back to Woodford with the Old Boys’ Club to help restore the Vulcans.

"He was a very sociable man and gentle too. He liked gardening and pottered around doing his jobs - he could turn his hand to anything.

"He only stopped driving when he collapsed in January 2004."

The claim is based on negligence and breach of duty and says Mr Crosthwaite was not warned about the dangers of exposure to asbestos, wasn’t given any training or provided with respiratory protective equipment and there was no or no adequate extraction equipment to ventilate the area.