Pearce helped launch the latest HSE awareness campaign just days before he was sacked by Forest.

Pearce fears his ignorance about the fatal fibre when he worked for four years as an electrician, means there’s a real possibility he could develop a deadly asbestos related disease in the future.

Pearce was working as an electrician in the early 1980s.

He said: “I was working as an electrician for four and a half years and it’s chilling to think I could have been exposed to it without knowing, we were simply ignorant about the risks back then.

“Today there’s no excuse – most people know how dangerous asbestos is but many think it’s a thing of the past, it’s not, it’s still there.

“It can be found in walls, ceilings, even floor tiles and guttering – basically in any type of building built before the year 2000”.

“Making sure you’re aware of where it can be found and how to deal with it safely, even on basic jobs like drilling holes or sanding, really could mean the difference between life and death.

“It can be so easy to breathe in this deadly dust and it may be years until you realise you’ve been affected.

“Every tradesperson that falls victim to asbestos related diseases like mesothelioma and asbestosis is one too many, especially if it’s a result of ignorance. Let’s make asbestos deaths a thing of the past.”