BCP COUNCIL said it is supporting the manager of the Beaufort Community Centre with regular checks, following the death of a popular dance teacher.

As reported, Katrina Jane Earley, 59, died on February 23 this year, a little less than five years after first being diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer caused by the exposure to asbestos.

She was exposed to asbestos throughout her time running a dance school at the Beaufort Community Centre, spanning over more than 20 years.

And a spokesperson for BCP Council said: “As the landlord of the building, BCP Council is supporting the Community Centre manager with this matter.

“The centre is subject to many regulatory checks, including those for asbestos, which, as the tenant of the building, the Beaufort Community Association is responsible for.”

After the inquest into Mrs Earley’s death, held at the Bournemouth Town Hall on November 3, a spokesperson for the Beaufort Community Association said: “The Beaufort Community Association were very sad to hear of the passing of Katrina Earley who was one of the original supporters and regular hirer of the community centre for many years.

“We are conducting due diligence and currently liaising with BCP Council who are the owners of the building from which the Beaufort Community Centre is based.

“As a council-owned building, the centre is subject to many regulatory checks, including those for asbestos, and we would like to reassure the public that our centre is fully compliant and is completely safe to use.”

Coroner Brendan Allen recorded the cause of Mrs Earley’s death as industrial disease.

He said: “From the evidence available to me, Katrina Jane Earley was fit and well and had a physically demanding job.

“She worked as a dance teacher running her own school at the Beaufort Community Centre. It was a successful school and she was there four to five days a week by the late 90s.

“It was around the late 90s that she was approached and told there was asbestos under the flooring.

“The flooring was loose, and the blocks would clearly be disturbed during dance classed and that disturbed the asbestos underneath.

“Mrs Earley was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2015 and on February 6 was admitted to the MacMillan unit where she died on February 23.

“Mrs Earley died as a consequence of industrial disease.”