The daughter of a former foundry worker who died from an asbestos-related cancer is appealing to his former colleagues to come forward with information about conditions at his workplace.

Norman Landry, 77, from Letchworth, died on March 9 following a year-long battle with mesothelioma, a cancer in the lining of the lungs which is caused by exposure to asbestos.

His daughter Maxine Pattinson has instructed disease experts to investigate the working conditions at K&L Foundry, where he worked as a powder man between 1965 and 1979. The factory in Letchworth has since closed.

Norman, who leaves behind three children and five grandchildren, started to suffer from shortness of breath in March 2013 and following tests he was diagnosed with mesothelioma.

He underwent chemotherapy but over the following months his illness progressed. As his condition deteriorated, he struggled to get around and heavily relied on his family and friends to help him.

Maxine, who also lives in Letchworth said: “It was a complete shock to lose dad and it has been very difficult to come to terms with. As a family we were devastated that dad was diagnosed with this terminal illness.

“The biggest hardship for dad during his illness was his loss of independence. He used to walk for miles every day seeing all his friends out and about but his illness left him tired and he was afraid of falling. His quality of life towards the end was not good at all and it was horrible to see him suffering like that.

“I urge anyone who worked with my dad to come forward with information so we can move his case forward and try to get the answers we need to come to terms with our loss.”

Irwin Mitchell lawyer Rosemary Giles, who is representing the family, said: “Mesothelioma is an aggressive and incurable cancer which causes so much distress for victims like Norman who worked in industries where asbestos was regularly used.

“We hope that Norman’s former co-workers and employees who worked at K&L Foundry will come forward to help answer the many questions his family has about his exposure as well as what measures were in place to protect employees like him. It’s important that we now help his family get answers about his exposure to the deadly dust.”

Anyone with information can contact Irwin Mitchell on 0207 404 0208 or email rosemary.giles@irwinmitchell.com.