Netflix’s new series Toxic Town is now streaming. The miniseries follows three mothers as they uncover the cause of their children’s birth defects in a small British town, but is it based on a true story? Read on to learn about the U.K.’s largest child poisoning case since thalidomide and what happened to the families involved.
The new drama series, directed by Minkie Spiro, centers on three mothers—played by Jodie Whittaker, Aimee Lou Wood, and Claudia Jessie—who live in the British steel town of Corby, where their children were born with similar birth defects, including missing fingers and clubbed feet.
Toxic Town showcases the families’ decades-long legal battle against the Corby’s borough council, which they hold responsible for the mishandling of toxic waste that led to their children’s disabilities. The show’s writer, Jack Thorne, was initially unaware of the case that’s been dubbed “the British Erin Brockovich.”
“The more you look into it, the more complicated it all becomes,” Thorne told Netflix’s Tudum. “I’ve done legal dramas before, but this one … being taken through the actual truth of it and seeing the journey that they had to go on in order to prove this, I found very surprising and shocking.”
Here’s everything you need to know about the real-life story behind Toxic Town on Netflix, including what happened to the families and the children affected.
Is Toxic Town Based On A True Story?
Yes, Netflix’s new series Toxic Town is based on the true story of the Corby poisonings in the U.K. during the 1980s and 1990s. After the closure of the 680-acre steelworks in 1980, its buildings were gradually demolished, and the waste was transported to a nearby quarry by the local council. However, the improper disposal of the toxic waste led to dozens of children being born with limb deformities.
How Did Corby, Northamptonshire, Become a Toxic Waste Site?
Corby, a small town about two hours northwest of London, thrived as a steel-making hub from the 1930s to the 1960s, becoming one of the most industrialized areas in the Midlands. However, by the early 1980s, the industry faced declining profits, leading British Steel to shut down the site and put the local council in charge of the cleanup.
Joy Shatford, a mother involved in one of the lead legal cases, told The Independent that the air was thick with pungent fumes when council engineers began reopening some of Corby’s estimated eight to sixteen toxic pits. Large lorries transported the waste (mainly lead and zinc by-products from the steel industry) to two sealed containers northeast of the town, the publication reported.
“You could taste it in the air; it was sour, gassy and acidic. Then it was common knowledge that this was because they were digging up the pits,” Shatford told the site. She added that a few months later, after giving birth to her first son, Daniel, the nurses wrapped him up but said nothing about his hand. It wasn’t until she unwrapped the blanket that she discovered he had been born without fingers on his left hand.
“It was such a shock. I just felt numb,” she recalled. “I was left thinking I must have done something wrong during my pregnancy. But I didn’t smoke or drink; I didn’t even take an aspirin. It took me a long time to come to terms with what happened.”
How Did The Women In The Class Action Lawsuit Find Each Other?
The class action lawsuit started when four families became aware of each other’s similar stories. According to The Guardian, they connected after media coverage of the steelworks’ redevelopment and later testified in the High Court that they had lived in or frequently visited Corby while pregnant.
For more than 10 years, civil litigator Des Collins helped the families of the children affected get justice from the local town council, which was accused of “environmental negligence on a grand scale.”
What Did The Court Rule In The Corby Case?
In June 2009, a judge at the High Court in London ruled that the work carried out by Corby Borough Council on the town’s steelworks between 1985 and 1997 had been negligent. During the trial, one scientist described the particles hanging over the town at the time as an ‘atmospheric soup of toxic materials,'” according to The Independent.
Mr. Justice Akenhead ruled that the work had been carried out negligently, and that negligence “led to the extensive dispersal of contaminated mud and dust over public areas of Corby and into and over private homes.”
Did The Families Settle With The Corby Borough Council?
About a year after the court ruled in the families’ favor, the Corby Borough Council agreed to drop its challenge to the ruling and announced it had reached a final agreement with the 19 people involved in the case. However, the council continued to deny any connection between the waste removal and the limb deformities, according to The Guardian.
Collins told the site that his clients live every day with the lasting effects of the inadequate cleanup of the former British Steel plant. “Of course, no financial sum can properly compensate for their lifelong deformities and disabilities,” he said.
The litigator continued, “However, they are relieved that their long battle is now over. Today’s agreement recognises the many years of emotional and physical suffering the 19 families have endured and will continue to endure. It marks the end of an arduous 11-year legal challenge and removes the prospect of further litigation.”
The exact financial terms of the settlement are undisclosed. Following the announcement, Louise Carley, whose daughter Ashleigh Custance has issues with her right hand and arm, expressed her relief. “It’s a good outcome after a long battle. I thought they would appeal, they kept saying they were going to.”
Carley added that this was one of the first times the council had issued an apology. “It’s the first time they have said sorry,” she said. “That means more than anything. It’s the fact it’s not my fault any more. That’s what puts closure on it.”
The apology, from Corby council chief executive Chris Mallender, read: “The council recognises that it made mistakes in its clean-up of the former British Steel site years ago and extends its deepest sympathy to the children and their families.”
“Although I accept that money cannot properly compensate these young people for their disabilities and for all that they have suffered to date and their problems in the future, the council sincerely hopes that this apology coupled with today’s agreement will mean that they can now put their legal battle behind them and proceed with their lives with a greater degree of financial certainty,” Mallender added at the time.
What Did Des Collins Say After Netflix’s Toxic Town Was Released?
Mr. Collins, portrayed by actor Rory Kinnear in the Netflix series, told the BBC that the toxic waste case needs to be “brought before the public in a more complete way” beyond the Netflix series.
“This needs to be brought before the public in a more complete way, and I’m not criticising the Netflix production at all, but I think it really does require – in the light of this – that there should be further examination of the issues,” he told the UK news site.
He also wants more accountability. “A full apology would represent a huge amount [to the families].” However, according to the BBC, the local council no longer exists, having been replaced by the North Northamptonshire unitary council in April 2021.
Toxic Town is streaming on Netflix. Watch the official trailer below.
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