FORMER workers at an Erith asbestos factory are to get compensation payments for the damage their jobs did to their health.

They used to work at the old TAC factory in Manor Road, Erith, which was owned by Turner and Newall.

Federal Mogul, the company which bought Turner and Newell, went into administration in 2001 and froze all the compensation payments.

Their five-year battle to get back their cash came to a head last week when a creditors' meeting voted on the new compensation package.

Under the package, some employees exposed to asbestos before 1969 could get more than 60 per cent of their entitlement, instead of the original offer of seven per cent.

People who contracted asbestos-related diseases from living near the factory, will get 20 per cent, but some claimants have died while waiting for the issue to be resolved.

Thompsons - the solicitors' firm which as been advising many of the claimaints - said while none of the claimants would receive their full compensation, the years of uncertainty had ended. A spokesman said it expected payments to begin next year.