Dying police worker gets payout

3:52am Wednesday 4th April 2007

A police community support officer who is dying after being exposed to asbestos as a child has won a six-figure compensation pay-out.

Cheryl Marsh, 49, from Brighton, was diagnosed with the fatal lung disease mesothelioma in 2004.

Now council bosses have agreed to pay her more than £100,000 after she contracted the disease because of the conditions in the local authority block where she grew up.

Ms Marsh was exposed to asbestos when she was 13 playing in the boiler rooms in the basement of her parent's council flat in north London.

She was one of a group of 20 children who congregated in the boiler rooms during the winter evenings.

She said it was covered in asbestos dust but at the time they did not know it was dangerous.

She was also exposed to asbestos later when employed by Islington Borough Council's social services department where she worked on a motorcycle scheme.

She came into contact with the dust when stripping down and sanding asbestos brake pads. She was never told it could harm her health.

Islington Borough Council admitted liability and has agreed to pay Ms Marsh compensation.

Ms Marsh became one of the first community support officers to be recruited by Sussex Police when she was taken on by the force in 2002.

Last year she won a Sussex Police Award for her "dedication and professionalism" and still works four hours a day despite her illness.

There is no cure for the illness - often associated with former shipyard and factory workers - which can take up to 40 years to develop.

Often mesothelioma patients are forced to give up work shortly after diagnosis due to the severity of the disease but Ms Marsh, who is undergoing chemotherapy at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London, is still working more than three years after diagnosis.

She said: "When I found out I had mesothelioma I thought, why me? I didn't know anything about the disease but when I researched it I discovered that it mainly affected men in their 70s who had worked in heavy industries.

"I was exposed to asbestos while hanging out with my friends as a teenager. Now I have transferred to light duties as a PCSO, a job I love. I can't do the things I used to, like do a full shift on the beat, but work is the one thing that keeps me going.

"I don't know how much longer I have. I live each day as it comes. I try to be positive and I hope one day they will come up with a miracle cure."

Her job has involved a lot of work on the streets of Brighton, including the battle against drugs on the seafront.

Thompsons Solicitors, who specialise in asbestos cases, dealt with Ms Marsh's claim for compensation.

Ian McFall, head of asbestos policy at Thompsons said: "Cheryl is an inspirational woman who continues to fight the disease while continuing to work in a challenging role as a police community support officer. She has to be admired for her courage. Her case was not straightforward but we were determined to win her battle to obtain compensation."

Richard Hill, Islington Council's director of customer focus, said: "Our deepest sympathies are with Ms Marsh for her illness, which resulted from exposure to asbestos many years ago.

"Since this happened, local authorities have become much more aware of the dangers of asbestos. We have taken necessary steps to make sure that residents and employees in Islington are safe from harm."

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