Pembrokeshire has a death rate for asbestos related cancer which is above the national average, a campaign group has said.

From 2006 until the end of 2010 mesothelioma, a terminal cancer of the lung wall, was recorded as the underlying cause of 28 deaths in the area.

It is the equivalent to 2.8 deaths in 100,000 people. The average for England and Wales was 2.5, said the notfor- profit campaign group the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).

APIL president David Bott said: “More people die of mesothelioma in Pembrokeshire per head of the population than in most other parts of the country.

“This is bad enough, but the number of men dying from this disease is expected to peak during the next five years and what many people don’t realise is that hundreds of sufferers across the UK cannot get the compensation they need to help them through the last days of their life.

Many workers who have developed mesothelioma are unable to pursue a claim for damages because they can no longer trace the employer who exposed them to asbestos, or the employer’s insurance company.

This is because the onset of symptoms often comes decades after a worker has inhaled asbestos fibres, during which time employers go out of business and insurance documents are lost or destroyed.

“This unacceptable situation simply cannot go on.

Something must be done before more dying victims of mesothelioma go uncompensated,”

added Mr Bott