Family appeal for information following Bradford factory worker's asbestos-related death

Maureen Wainwright, who spent her entire career working at Field Packaging, latterly owned by the American firm Chesapeake, in Bradford, died on 27 May 2025 at the age of 84, just a year after her shocking diagnosis with the aggressive cancer.

Her family and legal team are now seeking information from anyone who worked at the Field Packaging factories on Hollingwood Lane between the 1950s and the late 1980s, particularly those who may have knowledge of maintenance, demolition, heating, plumbing or boiler works carried out on site during the 1970s.

Mother-of-three Maureen joined the company in 1958 and remained working there until her retirement in the early 1990s. Throughout her working life, she carried out a variety of factory roles associated with the packaging and printing business, primarily operating machines and picking and sorting jobs. Field Packaging, which manufactured printed packaging, including for cigarette packets, whisky boxes and perfumes, was one of Bradford's major employers and had a workforce numbering in the thousands.

Her family say she did not know she had been exposed to asbestos until she was diagnosed with mesothelioma around a year before her death. Up until her late 70s, Maureen remained in good health. She was an active bowler, loved tending to her garden and regularly managed her own supermarket shopping without issue. However, around two years before her death, she began suffering from breathlessness and a persistent buildup of fluid on her lungs. Initially misdiagnosed as routine chest infections, doctors eventually gave her the devastating mesothelioma diagnosis.

Mesothelioma is an aggressive terminal cancer caused by historical asbestos exposure, with symptoms often not appearing for decades afterwards. These can include chest pain that is often sharp or persistent, shortness of breath due to fluid buildup (pleural effusion), a dry, persistent cough that may worsen over time, lumps under the skin especially on the chest, fatigue: and unexplained weight loss. In cases affecting the abdomen lining, symptoms can also include discomfort or pain in the belly area, belly swelling due to fluid accumulation or tumours, and nausea and vomiting.

Maureen’s eldest son, John Wainwright, 61, said the diagnosis came as a devastating shock:

He said: “We lost Mum far earlier than we ever expected. Up until her late 70s and early 80s she had been incredibly fit and healthy. She was active, loved gardening, enjoyed bowling and was always on the go.

“Then everything changed. She became breathless and simple things that most people take for granted became difficult. Even her ability to walk around a supermarket was very limited and that was not something she’d had until then.

“It took a while to work out what she had. She had been ill and had been going downhill for a long time. She started getting lots of liquid on her lungs and the doctors thought it was chest infections. When she was diagnosed with mesothelioma it was the worst diagnosis you could ever get.”

John said there was no obvious source of asbestos exposure outside his mother's employment.

He said: “Mum worked at Field Packaging her entire working life. There was nothing in her home life or elsewhere that would explain how she came into contact with asbestos.

“My dad worked there, that was where they met, and eventually my sister Joanne and I also worked there. It’s a massive worry for my sister, who now lives with the fear that she may have contracted it too.”

Maureen's family has instructed law firm Slater and Gordon to investigate the circumstances surrounding her illness and death and is now appealing to anyone who worked at Field Packaging between the 1950s and the late 1980s to come forward.

Slater and Gordon is now looking for people who worked at either site at any time that Maureen worked there and can recall asbestos being present in the building. Maureen had worked at the now demolished former Scott Works on Hollingwood Lane up until about 1986. A 2012 survey prior to the demolition of the building confirmed that asbestos was present at the site. It is understood that in the early to mid-1970s there was a major construction and maintenance project when a new boiler facility and associated pipework was installed. It is understood that during this time, old asbestos lagging was removed from existing pipes and in addition, there was a demolition of a redundant chimney stack. Lagging material was removed and carried through the factory, exposing those that worked there on production roles to the hazardous material.

John added: “Many families in Bradford had connections to the factory. It was a huge employer and there must be people who remember the working conditions there during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

“We know Mum died from an industrial disease; it’s just pinpointing exactly where she was exposed to it and who may have been responsible. There were thousands of people employed there over the years, so we're sure there must be people who remember the work that was being carried out, particularly in the 1970s when maintenance and building work was taking place. That's why witnesses are so important and we're asking anyone who remembers working there to come forward.

“It is also terrifying to think this lays dormant for decades, so there may be thousands of people walking around Bradford right now like a ticking timebomb, unaware they are also carrying this disease.”

Christopher Briggs, a Senior Associate with more than 20 years’ experience specialising in industrial disease and injury cases at Slater and Gordon, said: “Mesothelioma can take decades to develop after exposure to asbestos, making witness evidence particularly important in helping families uncover what happened.

“We are keen to hear from anyone who worked at Field Packaging during the period from the 1950s through to the late 1980s, especially those who may remember building works, boiler installations, pipe removal, maintenance projects or the presence of asbestos-containing materials within the factory, or anyone who worked alongside Maureen during her employment there.

“Even information that may seem minor could prove vital in helping us establish the conditions workers were exposed to.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Christopher Briggs at Slater and Gordon on 0330 995 5368 or email christopher.briggs@slatergordon.uk. All information will be treated in the strictest confidence.