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A WOMAN has won hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation after she was exposed to asbestos as a teenager playing near her Islington home.

Cheryl Marsh, 49, grew up on the Brecknock Road Estate, Holloway, where she was one of 20 children who used to hang out in the boiler rooms to escape the cold.

It was covered in asbestos dust which at the time they did not know was dangerous, but in 2004 she was diagnosed with fatal asbestos-related lung disease, mesothelioma.

She was also exposed to asbestos later when employed by Islington Council social services department on a motorcycle scheme. Islington Council admitted liability and has agreed to pay Cheryl compensation.

Cheryl is undergoing chemo-therapy at St Bartholomew's Hospital, but is bravely continuing to work four hours a day as a police community support officer in Sussex.

She said: "I was exposed to asbestos while hanging out with my friends as a teenager.

"Now I have transferred to light duties as a police officer, a job I love. I can't do the things I used to, but work is the one thing that keeps me going.

"I don't know how much longer I have. I live each day as it comes. I try to be positive and I hope one day they will come up with a miracle cure.

"I want to make more people aware of this disease. Its not just old men who get mesothelioma. Young men and women who have never worked in industry can also contract it too, with the same devastating effects."

Ian McFall, head of asbestos policy at Thompsons, who dealt with Cheryl's compensation claim, said: "Cheryl is an inspirational woman who continues to fight the disease while continuing to work in a challenging role as a police officer. She has to be admired for her courage."

Richard Hill, Islington Council's director of customer focus, said: "Our deepest sympathies are with Ms Marsh for her illness, which resulted from exposure to asbestos many years ago. Since this happened, local authorities have become much more aware of the dangers of asbestos. We have taken necessary steps to make sure that residents and employees in Islington are safe from harm.