LEGISLATION will be in place next month to give full compensation to former Halton dock workers devastated by asbestos-related cancer.

Ministers have announced they will amend the Compensation Bill to overturn a court ruling that would have drastically cut payments.

The move means the change can be implemented from next April.

Asbestos, which causes mesothelioma, was widely used as insulation and ballast in ships that docked at Runcorn.

Thousands more workers were exposed to asbestos fibres at the borough's chemical works, where it was used to insulate pipes.

Nearly 800 people - mostly men - have died from mesothelioma in the past 20 years.

Law lords ruled last month a worker exposed to asbestos dust by several employers must seek compensation from each.

Since 2002, sufferers had been able to seek full compensation without proving which employer had caused the exposure.