A SILENT killer will cause devastation in more Suffolk families than ever before this year, it has been warned today.Speaking on the British Lung Foundation's Action Mesothelioma Day Suffolk-based personal injury lawyer Tim Humpage warned of an increase in the number of people dying from the incurable asbestos-linked disease.

A SILENT killer will cause devastation in more Suffolk families than ever before this year, it has been warned today.

Speaking on the British Lung Foundation's Action Mesothelioma Day Suffolk-based personal injury lawyer Tim Humpage warned of an increase in the number of people dying from the incurable asbestos-linked disease.

Mr Humpage, who works for Gotelee & Goldsmith solicitors, said: “Mesothelioma takes between 30 to 50 years to come to light from the time of asbestos exposure.

“So if you were working in the mid 1960s to mid 1970s you might start showing signs now.

“Up until the mid 1970s the legislation wasn't in place to properly protect people in the workplace.

“It is particularly a problem for people in Ipswich because of the old power station and the docks.

“Even teachers who worked in schools might be affected.”

As part of today's action day the British Lung Foundation also warned the number of asbestos-linked deaths around Britain were rising.

It said there should be better care and treatment for mesothelioma victims, better protection for employees and more funding for research.

Mr Humpage added: “My message to people affected would be that although it is a very difficult time they should think about taking legal advice with regards to a claim for compensation.

“In the vast majority of cases exposure was because of negligence so it is right to take action and people shouldn't feel bad about doing so.”

Are you suffering from mesothelioma? Has you loved one died as a result of the silent killer? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.

Silent Killer

THE Evening Star has campaigned for those who have died at the hands of asbestos for more than 20 years.

In the 1980s, the Star highlighted the dangers of asbestos when Cliff Quay power station was demolished.

In 1997, the Star launched The Silent Killer campaign to highlight deaths related to asbestos and to fight for justice for the victims of asbestosis and mesothelioma.

Asbestos is labelled the silent killer because diseases related to it can lay dormant for many years before diagnosis.

Over the next 15 years, the number of deaths is expected to increase dramatically, peaking at 10,000 in 2020.

The Evening Star will continue to highlight these deaths to raise awareness of the heartache and suffering asbestos can and does cause.

Mesothelioma is a cancer of pleural cells which cover the surface of the lung cavity.

The incidence of mesothelioma has increased threefold since 1990.

About 1,800 people die from the condition each year - twice the number that die from cervical cancer.

The government predicts there will be at least 38,000 deaths from mesothelioma in this country and 76,000 asbestos induced lung cancer deaths over the next 20 years.

According to the Health and Safety Executive, statistics indicate that 25 per cent of mesothelioma deaths will be in men who worked in the building industry and carpenters and joiners are most commonly inflicted.

The British Medical Journal (BMJ) says one in every 100 men born in the 1940s will die from mesothelioma.

The BMJ reports that approximately 90pc of mesothelioma deaths are due to exposure in uncontrolled environments.