The women, all members of the Swindon & South West Asbestos Group, released the balloons in Queen’s Park, Swindon next to the Mesothelioma Memorial – erected to commemorate the thousands of rail workers in the town who have died through asbestos-related cancer.

National Mesothelioma Action Day was organised by the British Lung Foundation to draw public attention to the disease – which can develop up to 40 years after exposure to asbestos.

Brigitte Chandler, a lawyer with Charles Lucas & Marshall and a specialist in asbestos cases, helped found the charity, the Swindon & South West Asbestos Group after advising the widows of British Rail workers on matters of compensation.

“We wanted to support the action day and help raise the profile of the condition, which, in the Swindon area, has had a devastating effect on families,” she said.