Agecroft Power Station A BRAVE retired electrician who contracted cancer after a working life at Agecroft Power Station fought his illness to the end, an inquest heard. After being diagnosed with mesothelioma, brought on by exposure to asbestos at the power station, Albert Starkie underwent a serious of pioneering treatments. But at Bolton Coroner s Court, Senior Coroner Timothy Brennand heard how the progression of the disease could not be halted and 74-year-old grandfather Mr Starkie died in Bolton Hospice on October 11 last year, just 10 days after being admitted. It is clear to me that this was a man who was fighting to give his family as much time as the disease which he suffered from would permit, said Mr Brennand.