Classroom killer was kept secret; EXCLUSIVE: The full shocking toll of deadly disease is revealed.

Byline: By MARK ELLIS 

DEVOTED teacher Gina Lees loved displaying her pupils' artwork from the ceiling of her primary school.

She brightened up classrooms throughout a 30-year career, but she was unaware of a terrible secret - it was slowly killing her.

Every time she stuck a drawing pin in the ceiling tiles she released a small but deadly dusting of asbestos fibres.

In 2000 she was diagnosed with mesothelioma and three months later the mum-of two died, aged 51.

A coroner recorded "death from industrial disease" and Gina's husband Michael decided to find out how she became exposed to asbestos. Michael, 61, an artist, made deeply disturbing discoveries.

Now the tireless campaigner backs the Daily Mirror campaign for a public register of all asbestos surveys.

First he found that most of the 25 schools where Gina taught in Norfolk and Devon, had asbestos.

Disturbingly, head teachers and governors were unaware of the risk. Today he remains "angry" at lack of progress.

By accessing files under the Freedom of Information Act he found officials he thought were helping him "were resisting my efforts to get to the bottom of the problem".' Despite being warned low asbestos exposure could cause mesothelioma as far back as 1967 governments have not carried out a full audit of schools. Half Britain's 25,000 schools were built between 1945 and 1974 when asbestos use peaked. Teachers dying of mesothelioma rose to 18 a year between 2001 and 2005. Mr Lees says this shows how many kids are likely to have been exposed.

Big teaching unions back our campaign and urge the government to remove asbestos.

Last night Jim Knight, Schools Minister, said health was "paramount" and thousands of schools were being refurbished and rebuilt.

CAPTION(S):

POISONED Gina inhaled deadly dust for years; ANGRY Asbestos crusader Michael