A RETIRED fitter who worked at the shipyard for 30 years 'always knew he would get mesothelioma', his family said as they paid tribute to a much-loved granddad.

Dougie Pritt worked onboard a number of submarines during his career at Vickers including HMS Dreadnought, HMS Explorer, HMS Warspite, HMS Resolution and HMS Repulse.

He later moved into the planning offices but during his time on the shopfloor he was exposed to asbestos on a daily basis.

At an inquest at Barrow Town Hall on Wednesday coroner Paul O'Donnell heard how Mr Pritt was diagnosed with epithelioid mesothelioma in 2015.

He died in June of this year aged 81.

Mr Pritt, who was born in Ulverston, was tasked with fitting pipework in new-build submarines and boats under maintenance.

At the time, long before asbestos was banned in the UK in 1999, Mr Pritt used asbestos between pipes and to grind torpedo tubes.

In a statement written before his death at St Mary's Hospice, surrounded by his family, Mr Pritt said: "It was always dusty. When the sun shone in the right direction you could see dust in the air.

"The cleaners would come along after us and they had a thankless task. No matter how hard they worked they couldn't get rid of the dust."

His wife, Eleanor, paid tribute to the dad-of-two to whom she was married for 55 years.

"He loved walking; that's what made him happy, that and his grandchildren."

The coroner concluded Mr Pritt died from an industrial disease.