Britain's nuclear test 'guinea pigs': Veterans reveal devastating health problems caused by watching bomb blasts up close and flying through fallout clouds without protection during Cold War

They were the tests that saw Britain establish itself as a nation capable of killing millions of people in the blink of an eye. 'You saw all the bones, tendons, everything through your hands,' says 86-year-old former RAF cook Brian Unthank in tonight's BBC documentary, Britain's Nuclear Bomb Scandal: Our Story. The UK's first nuclear bomb was successfully tested in the South Pacific on October 3, 1952 'You saw all the bones, tendons, everything through your hands,' says 86-year-old former RAF cook Brian Unthank in tonight's BBC documentary, Britain's Nuclear Bomb Scandal: Our Story Britain remains the only country that has tested nuclear weapons but not accepted responsibility for the effects on victims. Mr Hart has been left with around 150 lipomas - soft fatty lumps - on his body and in his 60s had to have a large portion of his bowel removed to treat aggressive cancer John Folkes, 89, was ordered to fly through four mushroom clouds without protective clothing or being given warnings about the risks Avon Hudson, 86, exposed the extent of contamination at test sites in Australia Terry Quinlan, 84, experienced night terrors and now has severe heart problems. The passengers and crew were witnessing the second test of Britain's hydrogen bomb, May 31, 1957 The crew of HMS Narvik watch the smoke rise after a British atomic test in 1956 A photography team sets up during the British nuclear test in the Montebello Islands, October 1952 Setting up the equipment of the photography team during Operation Hurricane, Britain's first nuclear weapon test The explosion sent a 600mph blast rippling as smoke plumed in the sky A mushroom cloud after the test on Christmas Island on May 15, 1957 'They would have us believe that this nuclear fallout was just a gentle rain from heaven.