A Norfolk woman diagnosed with an asbestos-related cancer is appealing for former colleagues to help establish how she was exposed.
Judith ‘Judy’ Boughtflower, 76, from Litcham, was diagnosed with mesothelioma in June after developing symptoms the previous month. The disease is almost exclusively caused by exposure to asbestos.
Boughtflower volunteered and later worked as a special education assistant at Great Ellingham School in Attleborough between 1978 and 1997.
She said maintenance work in the school’s main hall involved asbestos water tanks being removed from the loft and ceiling tiles taken down to access the roof space.
The work created dust, she said, with teachers sometimes left to clean it up. Boughtflower also recalled repairs to cladding in demountable classrooms and vinyl linoleum flooring being regularly lifted because of wear and tear.
There is no suggestion Great Ellingham Primary School currently poses any asbestos-related risk to pupils, staff or visitors.
Law firm Leigh Day, which is investigating how Boughtflower may have been exposed, is asking anyone who worked at the school between 1978 and 1997 to come forward if they remember maintenance or repair work.
It is also appealing to former colleagues from Boughtflower’s time at British National Life Insurance Society, M E Rutty Underwriting Agency Ltd, Tey Pottery and Age Concern/Age Cymru Ceredigion.
Andrew Cooper, a solicitor in Leigh Day’s asbestos team, said: ‘Judy’s mesothelioma diagnosis has come as a devastating shock to her and her family.
‘We are particularly keen to hear from anyone who worked at Great Ellingham School between 1978 and 1997 and may remember maintenance or repair work taking place in the main hall or the demountable classrooms.
‘Even the smallest detail about the building, repair works, materials used or the conditions at the school could prove important in helping us understand how Judy may have been exposed to asbestos.’
Image: Ben Hessler/UnSplash
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