Hartcliffe<\/a> in Bristol.<\/p>\nTony Roberts, the specialist asbestos-related disease lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing Matthew and Helen, said: \u201cLosing Marlene continues to have a profound effect on her loved ones, particularly Matthew and Helen who are struggling to come to terms with her death so soon after her mesothelioma diagnosis.<\/p>\n
\u201cMesothelioma is a horrible disease and Marlene\u2019s case is yet another reminder of the terrible legacy left behind by asbestos.<\/p>\n
“It also highlights that not only those in heavy industry are impacted, with the widespread use of asbestos also affecting workers in various public buildings, including schools.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile nothing will ever change what Marlene\u2019s loved ones are going through, we\u2019re determined to provide them with the answers they deserve.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would therefore urge any of Marlene\u2019s ex-colleagues to come forward as doing so could prove vital in our investigation.<\/p>\n
![\"Marlene,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_school-teacher-1396761.jpg\")
Marlene, who was a teacher for more than 40 years, wanted to see whether her diagnosis could be linked to her employment history, but she sadly died shortly afterwards, aged 86(Image: Irwin Mitchell\u00a9 SWNS)<\/p>\n
At the time, the school was run by Avon Education Authority.<\/p>\n
The grandmother-of-four added that she recalled seeing lots of people in white body suits at the school one day in the 1970s.<\/p>\n
She and her colleagues were informed that asbestos was being removed from the main building and they were sent to Weston-Super-Mare for the day, returning to the school the next day.<\/p>\n
She said that there was also a caretaker who lived on the site, and he would remove ceiling tiles to change lightbulbs in classrooms.<\/p>\n
Marlene was a teacher for more than 40 years. After retirement, she set up a nursery with Helen, which she continued doing into her 80s.<\/p>\n
She fell ill in June 2023 with a cough, wheezing and pain. Following tests, she was diagnosed with mesothelioma in October 2023.<\/p>\n
She died three months later, in January 2024.<\/p>\n
Helen said: \u201cWhile we know there\u2019s nothing we can do to bring her back, the least we can do is get her the answers she deserved. It will also help us honour her memory.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would be incredibly grateful if anyone could get in touch and help us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anyone with information is asked to contact Tony Roberts at Irwin Mitchell on 02380 930745 or by e-mail at tony.roberts@irwinmitchell.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Her family now want answers Lauren Beavis and Shannon Brown Reporter 08:54, 04 Jul 2025 Marlene Broad(Image: Irwin…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":236953,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8818],"tags":[381,748,1204,2266,393,4884,14344,105,16,15,11158],"class_list":{"0":"post-236952","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bristol","8":"tag-bristol","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-cancer","11":"tag-education","12":"tag-england","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-hartcliffe","15":"tag-health","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-weston-super-mare"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114794056003258757","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236952"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236952\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Marlene](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_school-teacher-1396762.jpg\")
Marlene Broad(Image: Irwin Mitchell\u00a9 SWNS)<\/p>\n![\"Marlene](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_school-teacher-1396764.jpg\")
Marlene was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a terminal cancer usually of the lining of the lung most commonly associated with exposure to asbestos, often decades previously.(Image: Irwin Mitchell\u00a9 SWNS)<\/p>\n