At least 500 people across south Hampshire will fall victim to lung cancer mesothelioma by 2020, say doctors.

This will bring the total deaths of asbestos-related diseases to 1,100 over 35 years – one of the worst rates in the country.

More men have died from the killer cancer in Portsmouth than anywhere else in the south-east, mainly because of workers at Portsmouth Dockyard breathing in the deadly fibres for years.

Portsmouth also has the sixth highest death rate in the UK among men for mesothelioma.

It can an take up to 40 years for the cancer to develop but when it does patients have an average lifespan of just 18 months.

Dr Ed Neville, a respiratory consultant at Queen Alexandra Hospital, Cosham, said he expected to see a peak over the next decade.

'By 2020 I would estimate there will be up to 50 mesothelioma deaths a year in this area,' he said.

'In the 1950s and 1960s about 20,000 were employed in the dockyards, of which about 15,000 were probably exposed to asbestos at work.

'And of course, there were those who were employed in lagging firms, the building and brake linings industry and at the gas plant at Hilsea.

'The lag time for developing mesothelioma after exposure is between 20 and 50 years so we are seeing a lot more people being diagnosed with it now.'

In total, 544 men and 49 women have died from mesothelioma in Portsmouth and south-east Hampshire between 1984 and 2005.

As The News begins a week-long special report into asbestos, campaigners are calling for compensation to be made available quicker as many have died before receiving any settlement for their suffering.

Diane McLellan, founder of the Hampshire Asbestos Support and Awareness Group, said: 'Sufferers have been made victims through no fault of their own. It is up to us to raise awareness to ensure they get the help they need and deserve.'

A bill is currently going through parliament that could make fast-track compensation payments for mesothelioma sufferers law.

At the moment it is only people who can prove they worked with asbestos who can claim. But under the proposed new law everyone with mesothelioma would be entitled to a cash payout.

Portsmouth North MP Sarah McCarthy-Fry sat on the committee which drafted the bill.

She said: 'The government would pay the money, and they would then go through the court process of recovering it from insurers.

'It is to prevent mesothelioma sufferers having to endure lengthy court battles.

'I wholeheartedly support the idea that, wherever possible, people with mesothelioma can receive compensation in life.'

The bill is currently with the House of Lords for consideration.