Swindon remembers asbestos victims as mesothelioma cases continue to rise
Swindon has remembered asbestos victims as mesothelioma cases linked to the town's railway works continue to rise, with 330 deaths since 1981 and experts warning cases have yet to peak.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Relatives gathered in Queen's Park in Swindon to remember loved ones lost to mesothelioma, the asbestos-related cancer that has had a lasting impact on the town's railway works. The disease has no cure, and new cases are still rising.
Among those remembered was Melvin, the husband of Liz, who died two years ago. Liz said he had been a plumbing and heating engineer in his apprentice years and had spoken about ripping out asbestos pipes. She remembered seeing asbestos on his clothes when she washed them. He did the job for about six years before moving on, but the disease appeared in his lung 50 years later.
Asbestos was widely used in Swindon's rail works, where locomotives, boilers and pipes were made. Workers handled it all the time, breathing in fibres and bringing them home on their clothes. The town's industrial heritage carries what one local figure described as a profound human cost, and mesothelioma is often called the Swindon disease.
The latest figures available show that 41 men and four women from the Swindon area died from mesothelioma between 2020 and 2024. Since 1981, 330 people have died. The numbers have risen steadily and are also affecting younger people.
Mesothelioma is classed as an industrial disease, so those affected and their families can claim extra benefits and sometimes receive a financial payout. One speaker said the aim was to secure compensation and, if possible, an admission of liability or an apology. They said it would not cure people but would secure their future and their family's future and give them a sense of justice.
Experts believe mesothelioma is a growing problem that has yet to peak. Over the next 10 years, they think the number of cases will continue to rise, leaving more families facing the greatest loss.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Experts expect mesothelioma cases to continue rising over the next 10 years. | |
| In the Swindon area, 45 people died from mesothelioma between 2020 and 2024, with 330 deaths recorded since 1981. | |
| Mesothelioma is an incurable form of lung cancer caused by asbestos exposure. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC ONE West led its local coverage on a remembrance event in Swindon, using personal testimony from Liz to show the human cost of asbestos exposure at the town's railway works. It combined the latest mesothelioma death figures with the classification of the disease as industrial, allowing benefits and compensation claims, and ended on experts' warning that cases will keep rising for another decade.
- “My husband was a plumbing and heating engineer in his apprentices years. He remembers ripping out asbestos pipes and I remember seeing it all on his clothes when I washed the clothes.”
- “I often find myself talking with pride about the industrial heritage of our town, the importance of the railways to Swindon. But with that also comes quite profound human cost and mesothelioma is often talked about as the Swindon disease.”
- “All we can do is get them compensation and hopefully with that admission of liability or an apology, it's not going to cure them sadly.”
Broadcast Timeline
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