A factory worker died from a lung condition caused by workplace mould exposure after years of inhaling fungal spores released into the air by contaminated water systems at a Rotherham glassworks, a court case has revealed.
Lee Walker, 58, worked as a forehearth specialist at the Beatson Clark factory from 2008, maintaining the machinery that shapes molten glass into bottles and jars. In 2017 he began experiencing breathing problems, violent coughing fits — one of which broke a rib — and extreme fatigue. Simple tasks such as carrying the shopping home became a struggle. His health declined rapidly and he was forced to retire in 2019. He died in 2025 from hypersensitivity pneumonitis, a lung condition caused by inhaling hazardous mould particles at his workplace.
The condition: hypersensitivity pneumonitis
Hypersensitivity pneumonitis is an immune system disorder that causes inflammation deep in the lungs, specifically in the air sacs (alveoli) and small airways. It is triggered by repeated inhalation of certain irritants, known as antigens. In Mr Walker’s case, the trigger was Aspergillus mould spores released as vapour from the factory’s water systems. Aspergillus is a common mould found in damp buildings, soil and decaying vegetation; its spores are widespread in indoor and outdoor environments. Most people are unaffected by inhaling them, but those with pre-existing lung conditions or weakened immune systems can develop serious respiratory illnesses.
Symptoms of hypersensitivity pneumonitis include shortness of breath, persistent cough, fever, chills, fatigue, chest pain and flu-like episodes. In chronic cases the condition develops slowly, leading to weight loss and long-term bronchitis. The primary method of prevention is to avoid exposure to the causative agent by eliminating or reducing dust, improving ventilation and using protective masks. For workplaces, that means employers must assess and control exposure to hazardous biological agents.
Aspergillus is classed as a hazardous biological agent under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH). Under those regulations, employers are legally required to identify the substance, conduct a risk assessment, implement control measures and provide information and training to staff.
Research from the University of Manchester has found that aspergillosis — a group of conditions caused by Aspergillus — affects between 3,288 and 4,257 people a year in the UK and can be fatal.
The workplace cause: contaminated water systems and failings
A report produced by Beatson Clark in 2018 — which Mr Walker was unaware of at the time — showed that the company’s water systems had been contaminated with dangerously high levels of Aspergillus. The contaminants were released into the air as vapour during his routine daily work, his lawyers said.
According to Thompsons Solicitors, who represented Mr Walker, he was never given a health risk assessment or personal protective equipment while working at the factory. The firm’s solicitor Alison Gregory said the company should have had the water systems risk assessed and tested. “Given that we’re working with water systems, there was no testing of the water when he was working there. There was just no end of failings, quite frankly… massive failure,” she said.
Philip Liptrot, also of Thompsons Solicitors, described Mr Walker’s death as “devastating and entirely preventable” and said the case reflected “the wider human cost of industrial disease which extends far beyond the individual worker”.
Beatson Clark, founded in 1751 and now part of the Newship Group, is the UK’s largest manufacturer of glass containers for the pharmaceutical, food and beverage industries. In a statement, the company’s managing director Eddie Pickering said: “Our deepest sympathies remain with Lee Walker’s family and loved ones, and we recognise the profound impact his death has had on them. This was an isolated case and we have not received any other claims of this nature. The health, safety and wellbeing of our workforce is our highest priority. We maintain stringent safety procedures and continue to invest in improvements and innovations designed to protect our colleagues.”
The family’s loss and legal action
Mr Walker and his wife Lisa launched a legal claim against Beatson Clark. In December 2024 the firm admitted it had breached its duty of care and paid the family a six-figure settlement. Tragically, Mr Walker died just months later from a severe chest infection, before he could see the money.
The couple had moved to Cleethorpes by the sea hoping to ease his symptoms, but his condition worsened to the point where turning over in bed left him breathless. In his final days in hospital, Ms Walker described how she woke to find no message from him and rushed to his bedside. “And when I got there, nurses were fussing round him, and he kept saying, ‘I’m going, Lisa, I’m going.’” He told nurses: “I don’t want to be in any pain. I don’t want to be gasping for breath. Just put me to sleep.”
A year on, Ms Walker said she felt that Beatson Clark had robbed her and her husband of their future. “It’s so maddening that this man — he’s gone to work and he’s provided for his family all his life. He’s worked all his life, and then for him to go into a job he loved so much, and to get this illness that ultimately killed him — it’s just so maddening,” she said. “I feel absolutely robbed… he was 58, it’s no age. I see other couples, older couples, and I look at them and I could just cry because they just think that should have been Lee and me.”