by Katie Lamborn

A former electrician dying from cancer has issued a chilling warning to employers - put people before profits.

Jack Rekert, Northfleet, was speaking as the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launched a new campaign today.

The Hidden Killer awareness drive reveals exposure to asbestos kills 20 tradesmen a week - and the number is increasing.

The campaign is targeted at the 1.8 million tradesmen who run the risk of exposure to deadly asbestos fibres each working day.

And Jack is the living embodiment of those statistics - which show asbestos- related illnesses claim the lives of 4000 people every year: more than die in road traffic accidents.

He asks a simple question: "Why me?"

Jack, of Pepys Close, is suffering from mesothelioma - an incurable cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.

Audio: Jack Rekert, on living with a death sentence

In 1985, he worked on a refurbishment project which took three nights to complete.

His work involved tearing down ceiling sheets and knocking down walls. Jack recalls there was dust everywhere. He was very concerned and spoke to the builder in charge, who reassured him it wasn't the asbestos dust he feared.

However, in June 2007 Jack was diagnosed with terminal cancer, 23 years after he was exposed.

Asbestos-related diseases can take anything from 15 to 40 years to present themselves.

"It's like someone smacking you in the nose and you're stunned and you just stand there and you think 'no, this can't be right.' But unfortunately [the doctors] aren't wrong."

Jack has been married to his wife Janet for 40 years. They have three children and four grandchildren who adore him. Jack hasn't broken the news of his illness to his grandchildren as he fears they are too young to understand it.

Jack's just finished his second round of chemotherapy.

"It's pretty horrendous really, but you've got to keep going and look on the bright side. They might come through with something that might cure it all but who knows."

Jack has this message for employers: "Respect your men: yes, you've all got to make money but also you have got to look after your men because they are making you money.

"If there is a substance there you don't know about, query it, get the information. Protect your men."

Jack and his family know he only has a limited amount of time left but he remains positive: "Every day is a bonus and you just carry on."

To find out more about the HSE's HiddenKiller campaign, click on this link.