A DISABLED Winsford woman was ‘almost certainly’ exposed to asbestos in the aftermath of an army storage warehouse fire in Donnington more than 30 years ago, an inquest has heard.

Susan Maughan, 63, of Dee Way, died in her home on October 30, 2015.

On December 2012 she was diagnosed with Mesothelioma – an aggressive form of cancer that is usually caused by asbestos exposure.

At an inquest on Thursday, March 31, a statement from Ms Maughan’s daughter, Lorraine Laketic, revealed the family moved to Northern Ireland at the height of the Troubles.

During their time there the family were in the vicinity of at least two explosions, the inquest heard.

The family later moved to Telford, in the borough of Donnington, Shropshire.

In 1983 the family were potentially exposed to asbestos following an explosion at COD Donnington, an Army storage warehouse.

As a result, ash containing asbestos was scattered over a 15 square mile area, which was linked to the death of Paula Ann Nunn – who died of mesothelioma – at a separate inquest last October.

At the time of the blaze, Ms Laketic accused the local authority of waiting too long to inform residents of the potential danger of the smoke.

“It took the local authority five days before they told the community, so they were exposed to asbestos for all that time,” Ms Laketic told the inquest.

Ms Maughan started smoking around 14, and was smoking around 20 cigarettes a day at the time of her death. She started getting chest pains around four years before she died.

Dr Peter Larmour, of High Street Medical Practice, Winsford, said in a statement that Ms Maughan visited the surgery on two occasions in 2011 and 2012 with breathing difficulties.

She was diagnosed with mesothelioma and began chemotherapy treatment, which lasted for three years.

On one occasion she had to be treated for a collapsed lung as a result of the disease, the court.

In March 2015 a CT scan showed the tumours were spreading and Ms Maughan was deemed ‘not fit for further chemotherapy’, the doctor’s statement said.

Dr Larmour said over the coming months her health deteriorated and she was given palliative care at St Luke’s Hospice.

“She died in her own home with her family. That is what she wanted,” Ms Laketic said in her statement.

Ms Maughan had several jobs over the years including a hairdresser, several cleaning jobs, bacon packer and plastic factory worker.

A post mortem concluded there was ‘no definitive proof’ of asbestos in her body though it was possible the cancer was caused by asbestos exposure.

John Pollard, Senior Coroner for Manchester South, said: “In my view there is no evidence that she was exposed to asbestos where she worked.

“There is significant evidence she may, well almost certainly, was exposed to asbestos in the aftermath of the Donnington explosion.”

Delivering his conclusion, Mr Pollard ruled that Ms Maughan’s death was an accidental one.

He said: “It was an accident that she was exposed to it and that is the only conclusion I can reach.”