By James Grant
BBC News, Northamptonshire
Netflix‘s latest drama, Toxic Town, sheds light on one of the UK’s most significant environmental scandals: the Corby toxic waste case. The series explores the legal battle fought by families whose children were born with birth defects after exposure to industrial pollution in Corby, Northamptonshire.
The town’s steel and iron industry boomed in the 1930s with the establishment of Stewarts and Lloyds’ steelworks. By the 1970s, half the town’s workforce was employed in the mills. However, the industry’s decline in the 1980s led to a major demolition process, during which hazardous waste was mishandled, contaminating the surrounding areas.
In 2009, after years of legal struggle, the High Court found Corby Borough Council guilty of negligence in waste management. A year later, affected families received an undisclosed financial settlement, held in trust until the impacted children reached adulthood.
Netflix’s dramatization of the case has reignited discussions on the scandal, while a BBC Radio Northampton podcast, In Detail: The Toxic Waste Scandal, delves deeper into the real events using original court transcripts and exclusive interviews.
‘The first person you blame is yourself’
George Taylor, 32, born with an upper limb defect linked to the Corby case, narrates the BBC podcast. His parents, Fiona and Brian, recall the shock and devastation they felt upon his birth in 1992.
Brian, a former worker at the steel plant, would return home covered in industrial dust. Fiona, who worked as a beauty consultant, vividly remembers George’s birth complications.
“I remember seeing his tiny hand, how his fingers were fused together,” she says. “I kept thinking, ‘Did I do something wrong?’”
At 14, George was diagnosed with a tumor in his hand, leading to complex surgery. “They said it was like climbing Everest without training – my body just shut down,” he recalls. The pain and trauma left lasting scars, but George remained resilient. “When I saw my hand post-surgery, I wasn’t sad. It was better than before.”
‘Did I do this?’
Lisa Atkinson, a former security guard at Corby’s steel mills, was regularly exposed to the toxic dust. When she gave birth to her daughter, Simone, in 1989, the baby had three fingers on each hand.
Like Fiona, Lisa initially questioned whether she was to blame. “I had miscarriages before Simone. Maybe I was lucky to have her, even if she wasn’t ‘perfect,’” she recalls. “But deep down, I knew I did nothing wrong.”
Simone, now 35, faced relentless bullying growing up. “I wasn’t a confident child, and kids can be cruel,” she says. To cope, she used humor, joking that she was part alien or that her mother had chopped off her fingers.
At 18, she was offered reconstructive surgery but declined. “Doctors weren’t sure it would help. By then, I had adapted. I live with daily pain, but I didn’t want to make it worse.”
‘It felt like we were an inconvenience’
Lewis Waterfield was born in 1994 with hand deformities. His father worked near the contaminated site as a roofer, and his pregnant mother frequently visited.
“My dad knew something was wrong the moment I was born,” Lewis says. Multiple surgeries attempted to improve his condition, but with limited success. “The council was dismissive. It felt like we were an inconvenience.”
Now a senior lecturer in public health, Lewis reflects on how the experience shaped him. “People still ask about my hands. It takes me right back, but I don’t mind – it’s part of who I am.”
A Landmark Victory and Its Impact
Following the court ruling, Corby Borough Council ceased to exist in 2021, merging into North Northamptonshire Council. The council later issued an apology, acknowledging the suffering of the affected families.
“We hope this apology and the settlement provide some degree of financial security for the victims,” the statement read.
Although compensation cannot undo the damage, the legal victory ensured accountability and recognition of the affected families’ struggles. Today, their stories continue to serve as a cautionary tale about environmental negligence and corporate responsibility.
BBC Radio Northampton’s eight-part documentary, In Detail: The Toxic Waste Scandal, is available for download on BBC Sounds.