When David King died of malignant mesothelioma at the age of 66, his family decided that the best thing they could do was campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of asbestos exposure. Pleural mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs known as the pleura, and other types of asbestos cancer, which affect the linings of the organs in the chest and abdomen, are, in the majority of cases, caused by prolonged exposure to asbestos.

King’s sons, Stephen and Peter, completed a four-day charity bike ride from London to Paris in their father’s memory on August 21. The ride raised over £4,000 for the Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Fund.

"We had been training for the last three months and it was unfortunate that dad passed away the week before we went,” said Peter King. “Dad was over the moon that we were doing it and he was backing us all the way. After his last operation he was hoping to get fit enough to be able to come and follow us on the ride by car but sadly he didn’t make it."

King’s case was ruled death by industrial disease by the Nottingham Coroner’s Court, as King was likely exposed to asbestos while working on power stations, which required him to work with pipe lagging and to strip out boilers.

King’s family is still collecting funds for the Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Fund, and donations can be made via www.justgiving.com/peter-king1

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