Family of mesothelioma sufferer seek help from former Econoguard staff

Charles Reynolds, who lived near Brandon, sadly died in November last year in a care home in Thetford from sarcomatoid mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer, in his left lung.

He had been diagnosed at the West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds a month before his death but without certainty as to whether he had lung cancer or mesothelioma. A post-mortem after his death confirmed its cause to be mesothelioma.

Mr Reynolds’ family is now seeking to understand precisely when and where he was exposed to the asbestos dust which entered his lungs and brought the life of an otherwise sprightly man in his mid-80s to a premature end. As part of this quest, they are hoping to get in touch with former colleagues, particularly those who worked alongside him at Econoguard Alarm Solutions in the 1970s.

Pictured: Charles Reynolds in the 1970s

Mr Reynolds, originally from Bromley in Kent, moved to Norfolk in 1968, having come out of the Royal Tank Regiment and, for a number of years, fitted fire alarms for a living. In his later years, he turned his hobby of antique restoration into a further career and continued to do this until his health deteriorated.

Econoguard Alarm Solutions is an established fire alarm fitting organisation which, although based in Cambridgeshire, has been fitting alarms throughout East Anglia for several decades.

Martyn Hayward, a solicitor specialising in asbestos-related diseases at Ashtons Legal, is working with the family. He explains:

“Mr Reynolds fitted fire alarms for Econoguard for a number of years. At that time, many buildings still contained substantial amounts of asbestos, and it was common for carpenters, plumbers, electricians and others who worked on older buildings to report coming into contact with asbestos dust. The same would have applied to anyone installing fire alarms.

“We are trying to build a full picture of the occasions on which Mr Reynolds was exposed to asbestos and would like to speak to anyone who worked with him at Econoguard in the 1970s. Mr Reynolds was a sociable man, so we are optimistic that some of his former colleagues will remember him and come forward to help his family obtain closure about the cause of his illness.”

Anyone with information is invited to contact Martyn Hayward at Ashtons Legal at martyn.hawyard@ashtonslegal.co.uk or on 07458 109736.

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