A WOMAN from Rayleigh may have inadvertently been killed by going to school.

Claire Hughes, 42, died from peritoneal mesothelioma, a form of cancer which affects the lining of the lungs and abdomen, caused by the ingestion of asbestos fibres.

Coroner’s Officer Ria Hill, speaking at Essex Coroner’s Court, said Mrs Hughes, who died on January 9, was wrongly diagnosed with ovarian cancer in June 2016 before a biopsy revealed her true condition.

Ms Hill said the only time there was a known exposure to asbestos was when she was 12-years-old and there was building and demolition work at Warren Secondary School in Chadwell Heath.

She added: “She has not had any jobs where the family feels she may have been exposed.” If the link to asbestos is from the school then many more children could have been exposed.

Coroner Eleanor McGann said: “This has been diagnosed in life at a very young age for this disease, she was only 42.

“By the time she was even born people were starting to realise the dangers of asbestos.

“By the time she would have entered the workplace people were taking steps to ensure people were not in contact with asbestos. There is no evidence she has ever worked anywhere with asbestos. There is the possibility of the school.”

She recorded a narrative verdict. It stated: “She died of mesothelioma but there is insufficient evidence for me to be able to find it is work related.”