Asbestos sufferers' coastal path walk to raise funds

Asbestos sufferers are set to join a 26-mile charity trek in support of vital support services across Scotland.
Dianne Foster, Asbestos ActionDianne Foster, Asbestos Action
Dianne Foster, Asbestos Action

The marathon walk will take place on Friday April 6 to mark Global Asbestos Awareness Week.

A 15-strong team will ramble part of the Fife Coastal Path between Leven and Rosyth to raise £3,000 in aid of not-for-profit group Asbestos Action.

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The group helps sufferers of asbestos-related conditions and their loved ones.

The route commemorates those who died after working at notorious exposure sites such as the Methil’s oil rig construction yard and shipbuilders in Burntisland and Rosyth.

Dianne Foster, support officer for Asbestos Action, said: “Events like this are a fantastic boost not just to the charity’s ability to provide services, but hopefully for the morale of the sufferers themselves.

“It’s nothing short of humbling whenever we hear of a group of people wanting to help those in need.”

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Asbestos-related diseases occur when people breathe in asbestos fibre which can lead to benign conditions like pleural plaques where the lining of the lungs calcify or terminal cancers like mesothelioma which can prove fatal just weeks after diagnosis.

Thousands were affected because employers, particularly in the construction industry, failed to provide workers with safety gear or breathing apparatus.

Asbestos-related conditions claim around 3,000 lives in the UK every year – more than are killed on the roads.

Fraser Simpson, partner at Digby Brown Solicitors and head of the industrial disease department, is also taking part.

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He added: “I have fought for countless individuals and their families over the years but it’s the personal impact each person has had on me as a person which inspires me to take part.

“Small acts like this have the potential to make a huge difference to the realities of thousands of Scots affected every year.

“We will continue to help those affected in whatever way we can.”

For more information on the walk and to donate please visit the team’s Just Giving page at http://bit.ly/2GJj4NS

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