Miners vow to fight for jobs at Kellingley Colliery

Miners at Kellingley Colliery have vowed to fight for their jobs after UK Coal announced it plans to close the site within 18 months.

The firm is holding consultations with staff and unions on plans to shut the pit, which employs 700 people, along with another site at Thoresby, in Nottinghamshire.

Loan for managed closure of Kellingley Colliery to be backed.

placeholder image — Loan for managed closure of Kellingley Colliery to be backed.

More than 200 Members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) attended a meeting about the planned closure last night.

Keith Hartshorne, NUM delegate at Kellingley, said: “We are very grateful for the support we have received and we just hope common sense can prevail because it makes sense to save this site.

“We have got the backing of our local MPs and it’s just a case of keeping fighting.”

See next week’s Pontefract and Castleford Express for an in-depth report.