Man, 86, who worked for many years as a car mechanic died of fibrosis of the lungs

An 86-year-old Blackpool man who worked as a motor mechanic for many years died of a lung condition which was possibly brought on by exposure to fibreglass during his employment, an inquest heard.

Raymond Harris, whose address was given as Common Edge Road but who had been living at a care home in St Annes at the time of his death, died in March this year, with his cause of death found at a post mortem to be respiratory failure brought on by pulmonary fibrosis.

The inquest at Blackpool Town Hall heard that Mr Harris had not known of any problems with his lungs until they were highlighted when he went into hospital for a hernia operation in January 2024.

The following year, he was diagnosed with lung fibrosis and was on palliative care at the time of his death after being discharged to the care home following a stay in hospital.

The inquest heard that Mr Harris had been a smoker some years earlier but pathologist Dr Darek Golka, who carried out the post mortem, said smoking at the level Mr Harris apparently had before giving up was unlikely to have caused the fibrosis.

Dr Golka added that he had found no particular pattern of damage to the lungs which might definitively pinpoint a cause.

Blackpool and Fylde senior coroner Alan Wilson concluded that Mr Harris died from the effects of significant pulmonary fibrosis which had possibly been contributed to by exposure to fibreglass during his working life as a motor mechanic.