A FORMER Workington GP has been remembered in the House of Lords by the town's former MP.

Dale Campbell-Savours was MP for the constituency between 1979 and 2001 and is now a peer.

He recalled the efforts of Dr Bill Fakes, a Workington GP, during a discussion into pesticide regulations in the House of Lords this week as part of the Agriculture Bill.

Lord Campbell-Savours said Dr Fakes was a friend of his who had lost many members of his family due to conditions associated with or similar to non-Hodgkin lymphoma, with which he was diagnosed in 1995.

Dr Fakes believed there was a link between the condition and pesticides used around the Fenlands, where he grew up.

Lord Campbell-Savours said: “Dr Fakes was convinced that his condition and that of his family and friends related directly to the use of pesticides in the vicinity of buildings and installations to which the public had access next to his home.

"He wanted all deaths in pesticide spray areas to be reviewed with a view to amendments to legislation dealing with pesticides, which brings me to Amendment 78 in the name of my noble friend.

“With Dr Bill Fakes in mind – sadly, he died from pesticide poisoning in 2003 – we need a complete review of the spraying of pesticides near buildings used for human habitation and for work. We also need new law specifying minimum distances during the application of pesticides.”