A Devon woman is suing the Ministry of Defence (MoD) after contracting mesothelioma from asbestos fibres on her fathers clothes, reports the BBC.

Debbie Brewer's father worked at an MoD shipyard in Davenport during the 1960's: he died of an asbestos related disease in August 2006.

This is not the first time that the MoD has been taken to court accused of negligently exposing people to asbestos. In September 2006 we reported the case of Michelle Campbell who reached an out of court settlement with the Ministry after contracting mesothelioma from her grandfather’s clothes. He also worked at an MoD shipyard.

Recent cases have highlighted the growing phenomenon of secondary asbestos exposure with more and more people contracting asbestos related diseases from fibres brought into the home on the clothes of family members who worked with the material. Online news source This is Lancashire reported the death earlier this month of former Mayoress Jean Greenwood. Mrs Greenwood was recorded as dying of an industrial disease caused by fibres in her father's clothes. Asbestos diseases can lay dormant for decades before any symptoms appear so, even though the dangers of asbestos have long been recognised, deaths are not expected to reach their peak until 2020.