We've got to find answers': Corby families affected by cancer searching for truth about toxic waste sites

"Alison Gaffney and Andy Hinde received the devastating news that their 17-month-old son, Fraser, had a rare type of leukaemia in 2018. Two years of gruelling treatment followed, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy, before a stem cell transplant. Fraser, then aged three, made a miraculous recovery from the surgery, before doctors declared the cancer in remission. It was at this point, as Fraser started to recover and grow stronger, that Gaffney, 36, began to look for answers."

"The botched disposal of millions of tonnes of contaminated waste after the closure of Europe's largest steelworks in Corby, Northamptonshire, in 1979 had always been a known thing, said Gaffney. A 2009 civil case linked the council's negligent clean-up of the site to a string of birth defects in local children in the 1980s and 1990s. It was later dramatised in the 2025 Netflix series Toxic Town."

"Gaffney and Hinde started to connect with other families in Corby with similar stories to theirs including some of Gaffney's former classmates at Brooke Weston Academy and the group began compiling detailed records on those affected. They now lead a campaign representing about 130 families with cases of childhood cancer dating back to 1988. The group has been calling on the local authority to investigate any links between cases of childhood"

Alison Gaffney and Andy Hinde's son Fraser was diagnosed with a rare leukaemia at 17 months in 2018 and underwent two years of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy and a stem cell transplant. Fraser recovered and entered remission after surgery. Gaffney recalled hospital staff questioning how Fraser contracted cancer and began investigating potential environmental causes. A 1979 botched disposal of contaminated waste at Corby's steelworks and a 2009 civil case linking negligent clean-up to birth defects have been cited. Gaffney and Hinde connected with other affected families, compiled records, and now lead a campaign representing about 130 families seeking local authority investigation.

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