A thousand balloons will be released tomorrow to highlight the plight of hundreds of people in Portsmouth and south-east Hampshire whose lives have been cruelly cut short by the lung cancer.

Shock figures show 544 men and 49 women died from mesothelioma in Portsmouth and south-east Hampshire between 1984 and 2005.

However deaths are set to rocket in the next decade as the deadly lung cancer can take up to 40 years to develop.

The event has been organised by Hampshire Asbestos Support and Awareness Group founders Diane McLellan and Lynne Squibb, whose dad Dave Salisbury died from mesothelioma in December 2005.

The 71-year-old contracted the killer disease 10 years after retiring from his job at Eastleigh Railway Works.

Mrs McLellan said: 'More than 2,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year in the UK and this figure is set to rise in 2008.

'We are campaigning to raise awareness of mesothelioma and the dangers of asbestos so that those most at risk of exposure can protect themselves and mesothelioma can eventually become a disease of the past.'

Supporters are invited to sponsor a balloon and attend a public meeting at Portsmouth Guildhall after the release at 12.30pm.

All money raised will go to the Mick Knighton and June Hancock Mesothelioma Research Funds.

Call Diane McLellan on 07792 543426.