The first cases of a deadly lung disease in tradesmen working with a stone popular in kitchen worktops banned in Australia following a health “epidemic” among workers have been reported in the UK, i can reveal.

Younger workers have contracted silicosis, an irreversible disease that can destroy the lungs, after inhaling toxic dust while cutting and grinding engineered – or artificial – stone, which has been dubbed a modern-day asbestos by union leaders in Australia