A DETERMINED Trafford woman is promoting awareness of a silent killer, after her husband fell victim to the disease.

Elaine Haskins, 59, was widowed in 2005 after her husband Hugh died from the mesothelioma form of asbestos cancer, at the age of 66.

Since then Mrs Haskins, who has lived in Davyhulme since her marriage more than 30 years ago, has supported victims and their family through the disease, and urged traders to beware of the killer, for which there is no known cure.

She said that no protective clothing for asbestos was given to her husband when he worked as a builder in the area from his early 20s, and that such lack of protection proved fatal.

She said: “The hurt, pain and anger is still there. My husband should never have died. All these men and woman have died due to a disease they should never have contracted.

“I wanted justice for my husband, and I was very, very lucky to receive compensation. But it was a hollow victory. I just wanted someone out there to take responsibility.”

Mrs Haskins supports the work of Manchester Victim Support group, which offers help and support to people and their families affected by the killer disease.

She also urges tradesmen to make themselves aware of the risks of asbestos through the Health and Safety Executive’s ‘Hidden Killer’ campaign, which launched this month. A radio campaign, which raises awareness of the fatalities of the disease, will be running for six weeks, in addition to a palliative care seminar on November 12 at Manchester Town Hall.

Asbestos can take as long as 30-40 years to be detected, and when her late husband was informed that chemotherapy had not been successful in the February of 2005, there was nothing else that could be done.

She said of the disease: “It’s very aggressive, painful and hard to manage. Once it’s been diagnosed it has been there too long, and it’s too late.”

She added: “They (the victims) do not give up, it’s their body that gives up.”

Asbestos, a building material used since the 1950s, is Britain’s biggest industrial killer, and claims 4,000 lives each year- more than the amount that die in road accidents.

It is when asbestos fibres are inhaled, by builders working with the material on sites, or teachers in an asbestos-filled classroom, that fatalities occur.

Visit www.hse.gov.uk/hiddenkiller for further information and advice.