As another former teacher dies from mesothelioma, a petition has been launched calling on the government to rethink its policy of asbestos management ahead of removal. Pete Henshaw reports

A petition calling for action on asbestos in schools has been launched after the death of another teacher from the cancer mesothelioma.

Primary school teacher Sue Stephens passed away on June 26. She had long believed that she contracted the cancer as a result of exposure to asbestos during her 30-year career in education.

With 86 per cent of UK schools containing asbestos, experts fear that hundreds of staff and former students could be dying from mesothelioma because of exposure to asbestos fibres while at school.

The petition has been launched by Mrs Stephens’ daughter Lucie and is calling for the complete removal of asbestos from schools by 2028. It was launched last week – coinciding with the annual Action Mesothelioma Day on Friday (July 1) – and has already amassed more than 4,550 signatures.

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