ASBESTOS-RELATED cancer killed 166 people in south Essex over the last four years.

Figures released by the Office of National Statistics show that Castle Point is the tenth for people in England and Wales dying of mesothelioma.

There were 40 deaths between 2010 and 2014 in the borough.

Basildon has the 12th highest mortality rate out of 348 local authorities, with 7.6 deaths per 100,000 people.

In the four-year period, 59 people from the borough died from mesothelioma.

There were 46 deaths in Southend, and 21 in Rochford.

Inquests have been held into several people who have died from asbestos-related cancer over the past four years.

Former Tilbury Power Station worker Frederick Jones, from Canvey, died from mesothelioma in May 2014 after coming into contact with asbestos in the Sixties.

And the family of Sidney Jordan, 83, from Wickford, launched a legal battle for compensation against motor giant Ford after he died from mesothelioma in April 2011.

Jonathan Wheeler, president of not-for-profit group the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, which campaigns for the rights of exposed workers and their families, said: “Mesothelioma is a legacy of Britain’s industrial heritage.

“Thankfully, employers nowadays are more aware of the dangers of exposing workers to asbestos. But those who were exposed 30 or 40 years ago are now facing death sentences for simply turning up to work.

“There is now a Government fund of last resort for them to turn to in that eventuality, but it doesn’t quite go far enough. It needs to be extended to include other asbestos-related diseases, such as asbestosis, so that other suffering workers can get the justice they need and deserve.”