A former worker at Wolsey’s garment manufacturing factory in Grantham is launching an urgent appeal for former workers to come forward with information about the working environment there in the 1960s.

Susan Foster (born Susan Watson) was diagnosed with the fatal lung cancer mesothelioma in March and it is believed that she was exposed to asbestos while working at the factory as a machinist between 1963 and 1969.

Ms Foster, who was only 15 when she started working at the Wolsey Limited facility on Gonerby Hill Foot, worked just a few feet away from steam presses which, it is believed, were lagged with asbestos as insulation to retain heat and protect the operators from being burnt.

As a result of her condition Ms Foster, now aged 66, has had to undergo surgery, to remove the lining of the lung and the cancerous tissue.

Information is vital

Following her diagnosis, Ms Foster instructed Thompsons Solicitors, leading industrial disease specialists, to investigate a claim for compensation. Susan is calling upon anyone who worked in Wolsey’s factory on Gonerby Hill Foot in Grantham between 1963 and 1969 to come forward with any information about the working conditions there.

Steve Fitzwalter, the solicitor from Thompsons representing Ms Foster, said: “It is vital that Susan’s former workmates come forward with any information to assist in piecing together an accurate history of her working environment and how she came to be exposed to asbestos.”

Anybody who has any information about the conditions at the factory please contact Steve Fitzwalter at Thompsons Solicitors’ Derby office on 01332 224 680.