A BEREAVED widow has told how her husband’s life was cut short by 20 years after he was exposed to deadly asbestos.

Julie Gentle has received hundreds of thousands of pounds following his death but all she wanted was the lost years with her husband.

Ian Gentle spent around nine years working as an engineer in numerous power stations around London, including Hackney and Greenwich.

The father-of-three started working as an apprentice electrical fitter for the Central Electricity Generating Board at 16.

He died aged 67 as a result of the work he did.

After failing to fight off a succession of chest infections in 2013, and doctors wrongly believing he was suffering with shingles, Ian was diagnosed with Sarcomatoid Mesothelioma.

During the next seven months, Julie, now 57, watched as her husband’s health rapidly deteriorated.

Doctors estimated the illness that ravaged his body reduced his life expectancy by at least 20 years and in an additional sad twist of events, Ian was also diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer.

Julie, from Hockley, said: “It’s very hard to describe how it feels to hear your husband’s life had been cut short simply because he worked hard to provide for his family.

“He was a strong man but to receive two terrifying diagnoses was incredibly difficult to process. It was such a blow to us and our happy life together. A week before Ian died he went into Haven’s hospice in Southend. When we arrived he said he wanted to go down onto the beach and have an ice cream. He loved ice cream.

“I never got a chance to fulfil that wish for him. We did, however, celebrate our wedding anniversary whilst Ian was in the hospice and he got to see his grandson, Theo, be blessed by a vicar. The night before he died was horrendous. He was struggling to breathe so much it was like watching someone drown. He passed away the following day. I wouldn’t wish that sight on anyone.” She received a six-figure settlement after launching legal action through law firm Slater and Gordon. Julie, mum to Robin, 31, Georgia, 29 and Jonathan 27, says: “One of the hardest parts of dealing with an illness like this is discovering it has been eating away at your body for so many years. Ian was potentially exposed when just 16, yet it took more than 50 years to come out and at a time we were both due to retire and enjoy our years together.”