Toxic Town mums make plea for whistleblowers

Tracey Taylor (left) and Maggie Mahon say they will continue fighting for answers over the town's waste scandal

Two mums depicted in the Netflix drama Toxic Town say more whistleblowers need to come forward as they push the local council for answers.

It is believed that the clearing of Corby's steelworks in the 1980s – where toxic waste was moved through the town in uncovered lorries – caused birth defects in children.

Families suspect the industrial pollution also caused childhood cancers in the area and they asked North Northamptonshire Council to reveal a list of sites where the waste was buried.

The council refused the request but said it was "committed" to responding to people's concerns.

Tracey Taylor and Maggie Mahon together spent more than a decade fighting for justice in one of the UK's largest toxic waste scandals.

The pair were portrayed in the Netflix drama by lead actresses Jodie Whittaker and Aimee Lou Wood.

They want more whistleblowers to come forward and are backing the new campaign, claiming they have seen "other clusters" of health issues "happening right now", including childhood cancers.

Solicitor Des Collins, who represented families at the High Court 16 years ago, says he has been helping 30 to 40 families.

Ms Taylor said residents in Corby should not have to "worry about the health issues of their children or grandchildren".

"How many years does this go on? How many generations has it got to affect before somebody says 'Let's sort this out once and for all'," she told the BBC.

In the Netflix drama Toxic Town, Tracey Taylor was portrayed by Aimee Lou Wood (right), while Jodie Whittaker (left) played Susan McIntyre

Ms Taylor, whose daughter Shelby Anne died at four days old, said she knew of whistleblowers who had revealed some undisclosed sites where waste was buried.

"We need [whistleblowers] to come forward and actually speak to the solicitor and do that statement and sign it," she explained.

"Until they do that, there's nothing in black and white; they can say, 'We used to bury it there' or 'We used to work there' but we need them to jump on board and actually sign those statements."

Ms Mahon, whose son was born with clubfoot, added: "Everybody deserves to know where the waste has been buried".

It is believed that the clearing of Corby's steelworks in the 1980s caused birth defects in children

In 1980, millions of tonnes of contaminated waste was taken to Deene Quarry on the outskirts of town as part of clearing the steelworks.

In 2009, 18 families took Corby Borough Council to the High Court.

Justice Akenhead ruled in favour of those families after the court was told heavy metal cadmium was identified at the former steelworks and found the council negligent in managing the waste.

The borough council was abolished in 2021 and, along with other authorities, replaced with North Northamptonshire Council.

Families have since called for a public inquiry and "full apology".

Lee Barron, MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire, attended a meeting on Monday with a group of families.

"[The affected families] had a response which isn't satisfactory to them, so we're going to see whether or not we can now uncover some of the answers for the questions people have," said the Labour politician.

"People want a public inquiry at the moment, and what I'm saying is you shouldn't have to wait for one of them."

In a letter seen by the BBC, the local authority said: "The council understands its obligation of transparency and the public's general interest in accountability and openness in relation to its processes but considers the weight of public interest (public good) falls in favour of non-disclosure."

A spokesperson added: "We are committed to doing all we can to respond to concerns raised by our residents."

However, the council says it is working with the NHS to get information about childhood cancer cases in the area.

The UK Health Security Agency says that recent research "suggested that exposure to cadmium in the general population may increase the risk of cancer of the endometrium, breast, testes, bladder, pancreas, and gall bladder".

Both Ms Taylor and Ms Mahon said they would continue fighting for answers and "won't let it go".

"The first court case took us about 10 years, and if this takes 20 years to get the answers and the justice, we will be here fighting," Ms Taylor said.