THE cholera epidemic which swept Britain in the 19th century has been investigated by a Southend author.

Mick Holland, Neighbourhood Watch coordinator for Southend, has written a book about the rioting which followed the spread of the fatal disease in the 1800s.

This strain of the disease was first identified in Bengal, India, in 1816, before it spread to Britain 15 years later, causing widespread panic.

The poor started rioting because they believed cholera was a disease made-up by unethical doctors.

Mr Holland said: “The common people in England and other countries believed doctors were actually inventing this disease so they could kill victims and cut them up for medical research.

“It caused quite a kerfuffle in 1832. We had quite a bit of rioting in England, Scotland and Wales. The idea behind the book was to try to identify the full extent of the rioting.”

The book, called Cholera & Conflict: 19th Century Cholera in Britain and its Social Consequences, has taken Mr Holland three years.

It is a collection of essays compiled by Mr Holland, Geoffrey Gill, of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, and newly qualified physician Sean Burrell.

Copies of the book can be obtained at choleraproject@aol.com