'He used to come home covered in asbestos - his death was very quick'

Within three months of being diagnosed with asbestos-related lung cancer, Melvin Emms had died. His family, like hundreds of others in a Wiltshire town renowned for its railway works, say they are shocked by the speed at which the disease claimed their loved one's life.

Liz Emms, from Swindon, said it was awful watching her husband's rapid deterioration in 2024. But the bereaved wife is not alone in her grief.

She is surrounded by other widows who have also lost loved ones to asbestos-related cancers, in a town where residents refer to mesothelioma as the "Swindon disease".

Dozens of bereaved families have now united for a special memorial event to pay tribute to their relatives and highlight the impact of the disease.

Swindon South MP Heidi Alexander, who was at the event, said: "I often find myself talking with pride about the industrial heritage of Swindon and the importance of the rail works to the town, but with that comes a profound human cost."

Emms recalls regularly seeing asbestos on her husband's clothes while he worked as a plumbing and heating apprentice ripping out pipes.

"He only did the job for six years until he went to work somewhere else and then, 50 years later, the disease appeared in his lung.

"He began feeling breathless, had an x-ray, then saw a consultant who diagnosed the cancer," she added.

She said it had been "awful" as her husband only had one round of immunotherapy before he "took a turn for the worse".

Melvin was diagnosed in mid-March and he died by mid-June.

Emms joined other friends and relatives of people who have died from mesothelioma at Queen's Park Swindon where there is a dedicated garden to sufferers of the disease.

During the 20th Century, workers routinely handled asbestos around locomotives, boilers and pipes, often breathing in dangerous fibres or bringing them home on their work clothes.

But the disease can be caused by asbestos exposure from anywhere and up to 2,500 people a year across Britain annually are being diagnosed with mesothelioma.

The latest figures available from the Health and Safety Executive show 41 men and four women from the Swindon area died from mesothelioma from 2020 to 2024.

A total of 330 people in the area have died from the disease since 1981, while there have been more than 100,000 deaths nationally since the 80s.

White doves were released at the Queen's Park event as a symbol of remembrance and Alexander helped open the cages.

Alexander said the government had recently published a 10-year cancer action plan and recognised people suffering from rare cancers needed extra support.

"It's really key to recognise the work of charities and organisations that support people who've been affected by asbestos-related disease," she said.

Those support groups exist across the country and help people with things like counselling, bereavement support and gaining access to benefits they may be entitled to.

Lisa Bello is from HASAG Asbestos Disease Support and was also at the Swindon event. Her aunt died after being diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2004.

"This is classed as an industrial disease," she said. "My team will go out to meet anyone who's been diagnosed and we will look at their finances with them and help them with any extra benefits they may be entitled to.

"But we also help them with emotional support at what I know is an incredibly difficult time."

In many cases of mesothelioma, where the source can be traced, there may be compensation available.

David Hughes, a lawyer for RWK Goodman, who specialises in mesothelioma cases, said: "If we can, we help people get compensation and an admission of liability.

"It's not going to cure them as there is no cure and sadly they know that, but it's securing their future and their family's future and getting a sense of justice for them."

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