A young dad-to-be who is battling terminal cancer believes it was caused by asbestos in his old Newcastle school.
Aged just 29, Chris Willis received the devastating news that he had mesothelioma and may have just months left to live.
Three years on he's defied doctors, and is now preparing to meet his first child in November.
However he's launched legal action, claiming asbestos at Kenton School - where he studied for seven years - brought it on.
"You don't expect to go to school, get an education, and come out with what I've got," said Chris, a teacher.
The 32-year-old has now opened up about his battle to raise awareness of his plight should any other former pupils be diagnosed with mesothelioma.
"I don't think schools realise how much asbestos is still dormant in buildings, and how much risk it poses to students," he added.
Chris, who now lives in London, studied at Kenton between 2000-2007. The largest secondary school in Newcastle, it has space for over 2,100 pupils.
It is currently a state-of-the art academy, after the old school building - which opened in the 1960s - was demolished a year after Chris left.
He's hired a law firm, Irwin and Mitchell, who he claims obtained documents which show that the old building was full of cancer-causing asbestos.
He was diagnosed in 2018, just over a decade since he left the Drayton Road school.
Mesothelioma develops in the outer lining of organs such as the lungs and stomach, and is heavily-linked to asbestos.
It can take decades to develop, meaning that of the 2,6000 Brits diagnosed every year, the vast majority are much older than Chris.
"This disease is an airborne disease, so you have to inhale it. It takes a minimum of ten years to come to life," he added.
"I was diagnosed in 2018, we had to go back at least ten years, so having spent a considerable amount of time at the school, we went down that avenue and having pursued it through the legal team we got all of the documents."
He said his case against Newcastle City Council will be heard over four days next year, having been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A council spokesperson said "We are aware of this claim but are unable to comment further for legal reasons."
For Chris, he is focused on remaining as strong and as healthy as he can - especially with his wife Evelyn expecting their first child later this year.
"(Doctors) pretty much said I would be lucky to be here a year after diagnosis," he admitted.
"People usually only live six to 18 months, but it is generally in older people - 60 plus - because it takes so long (to develop).
"But they are saying, because I'm so young, my body can probably handle it a bit better.
"I've had a few operations, and three years of treatment like chemotherapy, and at the moment I am on a private drug funded by the NHS which is only for two years, and without the funding I think it is about £13,000 a go."
He's had support from the charity Mesothelioma UK, even speaking up about his experience on a Facebook live chat with the charity's CEO Liz Darlison.
He's praised the charity for their support, but as time isn't on his side, he wants his day in court to try and ensure his family are cared for.
"I want to make people aware that this is a terminal disease, there's no cure for it. Those who generally get it tend to die within 12 to 18 months," he added.
"I've had to come to terms with the facts, but that does not take away the emotion of going to sleep and never knowing if you are going to wake up.
"Or anytime you get a bit of pain, or feeling a bit sick, thinking is this the turning point for the body. I don't think that stress ever goes away.
"And it would be a bit different perhaps telling a 70-odd year old that they only have a few months left to live, rather than a 29-year-old like when I was diagnosed.
"But you also have to think, you've got a mortgage to pay, how does the wife pay for that when the time comes? You have a lot of knock-on effects potentially."
ChronicleLive approached Kenton School for comment.
