I’m forgotten Toxic Town victim born with deformed hand, eyes & jaw – I DIED in hospital & my nightmare could get worse
GROWING up on the cruel school playgrounds, India Harrison was shamefully bullied over the life-changing health problems that have plagued her since she was a baby.
Born with deformities to her eye, jaw, teeth and arm, she lives in chronic pain and almost died on the operating table as doctors attempted to separate the fingers on her right hand, which had been joined together.
Tom FarmerIndia Harrison was the youngest victim of the Corby toxic waste scandal[/caption]
NetflixJodie Whittaker stars in the Netflix drama Toxic Town[/caption]
Corby’s demolished British Steel works in 1982Times Newspapers Ltd
Brave India, 25, is the youngest amongst dozens of children in Corby born with birth defects because of the botched dumping of steelworks waste.
The shocking case is now the subject of a searing new Netflix drama, Toxic Town, that promises to shine a light on Britain’s worst poisoning scandal.
India’s mother Joanne Harrison, 53, had to go to court to prove that her daughter’s serious health issues were the result of Corby Borough Council’s mishandling of the local steelworks demolition, which led to a red coating of dust blanketing the Northamptonshire town.
In 2009, Mr Justice Akenhead ruled the council was “extensively negligent,” paving the way for 19 families to receive £14.6million in compensation.
But the four-part mini-series only focuses on three of the mothers that triumphed at the High Court, a decision that India finds “deeply upsetting”.
Toxic Town, which stars former Doctor Who actress Jodie Whittaker, is currently the most watched UK TV show on the streaming giant.
In an exclusive interview, India revealed: “I had a little breakdown when I found out that Netflix was making a TV series.
“I was upset because it brought back so many memories and because – while I am not trying to hide what happened – I had moved on with my life.
“I am also worried they are only getting half the story.”
It was the innocent unborn babies and their unsuspecting mothers who were the victims of toxic dust that spread through Corby.
The young mums and their children have had to fight for a better life.
India reveals: “My mum is a hero and she tried to give me as normal a childhood as possible.
“But when I was born, my fingers were joined together and I didn’t have a proper working thumb so they had to make a finger into a thumb.
“I’ve had a flap put in so I can grip things – I had no grip before.
“I’ve been very poorly and I still live in chronic pain. You try not to let it stop you, but it can be debilitating.
“It’s mainly my hand and elbow but I get a lot of shoulder pain too. Some days I can’t move my arm, which is frustrating.
“It did feel like a handicap at first because there were things that other kids take for granted, like tying their shoelaces, that took me months to learn.
“Sometimes I did feel really different to other kids.”
Brought back to life
Doctors tried to help India grip things like any other child – but one operation nearly killed her.
India says: “At one point, when I was in my last year at primary school and first year at secondary school, I was having hospital appointments every two weeks.
“I died in the Intensive Care Unit after one really long surgery when I was three or four years old and was brought back to life.
“At school, I was bullied all the time and it was horrific. I used to get called Fishy Fingers, just horrible, horrible names.
“I used to hide my hand and it’s only recently that I’ve stopped doing that. I grew more confident and the way I think about my hand now is that it has made me who I am.
“It’s turned me into the strong, resilient person I am today and why should I hide that? I shouldn’t be ashamed.
“I’ve been through so much and each of my scars tells a story. I think that’s beautiful.”
Danger dust
GettySteel workers demonstrating against the planned closure in 1979[/caption]
Vishal Sharma/NetflixOpen top trucks carried the toxic material through Northamptonshire[/caption]
SuppliedIndia was bullied at school because her hand was different[/caption]
Corby became known as ‘Little Scotland’ because of the large number of Scots that headed south to work on its steelworks after the Stewarts and Lloyds site opened in the 1930s.
It grew to be one of the most heavily industrialised areas in the Midlands until 1981 when the plant was closed down by the owners British Steel, who deemed it unprofitable.
The council was put in charge of the clean-up and between 1984 and 1999 it carried out a botched excavation that involved 200 vehicles carrying toxic waste through populated areas to a quarry in the north.
Huge amounts of sludge was spilt on route, releasing a cloud of thick, red dust that settled on the town like a chemical-laced snowstorm.
The High Court heard that upper limb differences in Corby babies were 2.5 times higher than the surrounding area during this period.
Environmental expert Roger Braithwaite slammed the council’s “naivety, arrogance, ignorance, incompetence.”
He also cited “a possible serious conflict of interest,” in councillors awarding lucrative clean-up contracts to former colleagues and mates in what he dubbed “environmental negligence on a grand scale”.
An internal council report showed that residents had been exposed to high levels of zinc, arsenic, boron and nickel.
But faced with a mountain of evidence, council chief executive Chris Mallender continued to insist there was “no link” between the deformities and the reclamation work.
It was not until 2010 that the local authority agreed to pay compensation to 19 families, with Mallender admitting: “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.”
Rebuilding her life
India was the youngest claimant having been born in 1999 and she received compensation following a lengthy legal battle by her mum.
She has used the money to buy a house and open a vintage clothes shop in Helensburgh, Scotland, where she now lives.
Her mother left Kettering, which borders Corby, to settle in Scotland when India was a child so her maternal grandparents could help care for her three sisters, all of whom are in good health, while she was in hospital.
For an unknown reason, it was only the second or third child affected by the toxins and India was the third one born.
India said: “Looking back, I do get angry about what happened because this was people in authority and I wonder – how did they think they would get away with it?
“It wasn’t just me and my mum affected by their actions – it was my sisters and grandparents and all the people around us.
AlamyIndia’s mother Joanne Harrison had to go to court to get justice[/caption]
India was born with serious health issues
“I remember leaving court and thinking, I am exactly the same as the other children in this case.
“My eye is deformed and doesn’t turn left. My jaw is deformed. All my teeth and stuff – it’s all the left hand side of my body – just aren’t right.
“The roots of my teeth are joined to the bone. I had a tooth pulled out and it took them 55 minutes because it was connected to the bone in my jaw.
“I don’t have cartilage in either of my knees. I have missing muscles in my chest.
Sometimes I can’t make my bed or brush and wash my hair. I have to ask my friends to come round and do it for me
India Harrison
“My shoulder has gotten worse and worse as I’ve gotten older.
“Sometimes I can’t make my bed or brush and wash my hair. I have to ask my friends to come round and do it for me.
“There is a chance my arm won’t work by the time I turn 35 and that’s scary.
“But I have good friends and an amazing family and you couldn’t ask for more than that.
“I try really hard to be positive every day and to always have a smile on my face because I’ve been through so much crap and life is a beautiful thing and you should just live it.
“Going through the court case and surgeries – and knowing I could lose the movement in my arm – makes me appreciate life so much more. Despite it all, I’m incredibly happy.”
Toxic Town is streaming on Netflix now.
© 2024 Netflix, Inc.Toxic Town stars Claudia Jessie as Maggie (left), Aimee Lou Wood as Tracy (center), Jodie Whittaker as Susan (right)[/caption]
Tom FarmerDespite all she’s been through India has learnt to ‘appreciate life so much more’[/caption]
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