IN 1986 Stroud was thrust into the national limelight after a deadly outbreak of meningitis.

Thirty years later, the SNJ looks back at how events unfolded.

The death of seven-year-old Stonehouse boy Christopher Knight from meningitis rocked the Stroud district in July 1986.

He was rushed to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital along with Stonehouse boys Andrew Brodie, four, and Gareth Drinkwater, five, who had also fallen ill with the disease.

Immediate swabbing was carried out on families and close contacts of the three boys, including Christopher’s classmates at Park Infants School.

Around 350 children were swabbed and one was found to be positive – he was treated with antibiotics.

One of the children caught up in the 1980s outbreak was Tim Fear.

He was transferred to Gloucester Hospital where he was barrier nursed, with his father keeping a 24 hour a day vigil by his bedside.

He still has the newspaper cutting, pictured, and remembers TV crews filming at his home.

“I shared a bedroom with my 11-year-old brother at the time and I believe he alerted my parents to something being wrong,” said Tim, now in his 30s.

“I consider myself one of the lucky ones and my heart goes out to all those who have lost friends and family from the illness.”

The environmental health committee at Stroud District Council heard that the district’s incident rate was 14 times the national figure in July 1986– and the number was rising.

A petition started in Stonehouse was signed by 2,400 people calling for urgent action on meningitis and was presented to the Prime Minister.

A host of fundraising activities were also being organised in aid of Stroud Meningitis Trust which was registered as the first meningitis charity in the UK in 1986.