A 44-YEAR-OLD woman has lost her battle against cancer which she believed was caused by asbestos dust on her grandfather's work clothes.

Mother-of-two Debra Stevenson, of Honicknowle, was diagnosed with the devastating lung cancer mesothelioma in December 2008.

After fighting the disease for two years, she died at St Luke's Hospice at midday on December 5.

Her friends and family have paid heartfelt tribute to a strong, caring woman who fought her illness until the end.

Plymouth is a hotspot for the asbestos-related deaths which affect many former dockyard workers and, increasingly, their family members.

Widower Paul Stevenson, aged 41, said: "Debra was a loving wife and mother.

"She knew this was going to happen and she was very strong right until the end."

He praised staff at St Luke's Hospice, where Debra spent her final weeks.

He said: "The nurses at the hospice are out of this world. Anything she wanted, she had in minutes. They helped her, me and her mother and father."

Debra's best friend Jane Cory, aged 44, helped nurse and care for her over the past two years.

Jane said: "Debra was a beautiful young woman and she didn't deserve to die like this.

"She always said I was like a sister to her, and she was a sister to me. She was a wonderful friend and I feel lost without her."

Jane added that Debra's loved ones have started a collection for St Luke's Hospice.

Mother-in-law Christine Stevenson said: "She was a very caring young lady who would always do anything for people.

"I was extremely proud of how she coped right up until the end of her illness. I will never forget her. She was a lovely daughter-in-law to have."

Debra leaves Paul, her two children Deanne and Carl, her sister Lynne, and parents Tony and Val Edwards.

A former pupil at Ernesettle Juniors and the old Ernesettle Secondary, she worked as a sales assistant in shops in Plymouth and London.

She believed she could have contracted the lung cancer from contact with her grandfather Jack Duffin, when she was a child. He died aged 86 about 10 years ago from a different disease which was related to asbestos and smoking.

Her illness could also have been caused by dislodging asbestos while decorating, she told The Herald during an interview earlier this year.

Debra received a payout from the Government, the amount of which she did not disclose.

Plymouth has been highlighted as the UK's third worst hotspot for mesothelioma, with about 35 to 40 cases appearing each year.

Cases are expected to peak between 2011 and 2015, as the condition takes between 30 and 40 years to emerge.