Cecil Fuller, 74, is now so ill he is completely immobile, cannot breathe properly and has suffered a number of heart attacks as a result of working with asbestos while at Nene Valley Coachworks in Rushden more than 40 years ago.

But his solicitors can find no trace of the Nene Valley's insurance company to try to get compensation.

His illness is now so severe, he is appealing for any other people who used to work there or had contact with the company to come to his aid.

Mr Fuller, who worked as a carpenter at the now defunct caravan and mobile home company between 1955 and 1966, said: "So far, no sufferers have been able to claim compensation because it has not been possible to track down the company's insurers. Please, please, come forward if you have any information which might help."

Mr Fuller's work required him to cut sheets of asbestos used for insulation in caravans, exposing him to asbestos fibres which are now known to be the cause of asbestosis and pleural plaques.

He said: "Nene Valley Coachworks was a big employer back in the 1950s and 1960s and I'm sure there must still be lots of people who came into contact with the company.

"We want to hear from anyone who worked there or their families. We understand that eight former employees died as a result of working at Nene Valley and we are anxious to talk to their relatives."

According to Mr Fuller, there was a fire at Nene Valley in about 1965 which gutted the premises and it may be that local people or firefighters dealt with the company's insurers or brokers as a result.

Jeremy Brooke, of Simpson Sissons & Brooke, a specialist personal injury lawyer with extensive experience of handling asbestos cases, said: "It is tragic that victims such as Mr Fuller have not been able to claim the compensation to which they are entitled."

If you have any information call Mr Brooke on 0114 2413973.