A cancer victim doctors say has just months to live plans to sue the Government tax office she believes exposed her to asbestos.

Retired civil servant Helen Wickings from Wallington went from swimming six miles a week to barely being able to walk after being struck down with the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma, which was only diagnosed in April.

The 65-year-old believes she was regularly exposed to the deadly fibre during a 40-year career based at the Inland Revenue(IR) offices in Croydon and Epsom.

Mrs Wickings, who now cares for her disabled husband Ernie, has vowed to spend her remaining months fighting for compensation to pay for the 86-year-old’s care.

She said: “This needs publicity, because other people need to realise they might have been in danger.

“I thought it might be bronchitis or pnuemonia at first, it just started as a bad cough.

“Even the hospital didn’t discover it straight away - it’s quite a difficult thing to diagnose.

“I’ve had to have my lungs drained, which was pretty nasty, and the third time was the worst as I had it done without anaesthetic.

“I’m told I have quite a high pain threshold but I was squealing.”

Mrs Wickings believes she was first exposed to asbestos in the IR’s Croydon office in the 1970s, when she took frequent trips to the building’s archives among dusty folders and paperwork.

Her potential exposure continued in Epsom in the 1980s when her job was to read fuel meters in the building’s boiler room among old and exposed pipes.

She recalls a flood in the room led to outside contractors being called in to remove asbestos, which they did using protective suits and masks.

A second stint in Croydon between 1988 and 1996 involved her making repeated trips to a store cupboard which was sealed off for some time following a fire - a situation she also believes was down to asbestos.

Mrs Wickings is now looking to claim compensation from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs - formely the IR - who she alleges negligently exposed her to the fibre.

She is calling on other former employees to come forward with information about asbestos at the Croydon Four and Epsom branches between 1961 and 1996.

Anyone who thinks they can help should contact Ann-Marie Christie at Thomsons Solicitors on 020 7290 0061.