Miners to work their final shifts at Kellingley Colliery before closure

“Kellingley and the coal industry in general has been let down by successive governments – both Conservative and Labour – who have failed to halt the pit closures”.

Mr Kitchen says staff from the Job Centre Plus have met with miners over the last two months to prepare them for a life working above ground, but he is unsure how their unique skills will transfer to other lines of work.

Keith Poulson, branch secretary for Kellingley NUM, said the miners were angry because they believed the closure was unnecessary.

Britain’s last deep coal mine closed on Friday, with miners marking a milestone for what was once one of the country’s most important industries as they clocked off from their final shift.

Nigel Kemp, 50, a banksman at Kellingley Colliery, in North Yorkshire, said there was a sense of “comradeship and friendship” among the men at the mine today despite the poignancy of the occasion.

“It’s absolutely maddening to think that we’re just going to turn our backs on a profitable mine, an industry where you’ve got a skilled workforce”, he said.

Many said they were heading straight to the pub to celebrate their last day. Communities have been devastated over the last 30 years and haven’t recovered.

The miners will receive statutory redundancy pay capped at £14,250 once Kellingley shuts, a fraction of what their forebears have received during the many rounds of redundancies that have taken place since the pit closure programmes that began in the 1980s. It’s a sad day for us all but we all pull together in this industry and that’s what we always have done.

The Board of UK Coal said: “This is a historic moment, but also one which will have a real impact on those who work at Kellingley, their families and the wider community”.

It said the United Kingdom owed “a debt of vast gratitude to those who have done so much to help power this country over many decades”.

Owner UK Coal received financial support from the government to close it. The closure follows that of Thoresby in Nottinghamshire.

At its peak, Kellingley employed 2,000 people, workers shuffled some 800m down below the surface, where mini trains and conveyor belts took them on a five or six mile journey to the actual mining face.

The UK, which imported 42 million tons of coal previous year, is seeking to phase out the dirtiest coal-fired power plants, replacing them with nuclear and gas to try and balance reductions in carbon pollution with the need to protect consumers from rising costs. “Last week, they were on site hosting an employers forum, similar to a jobs fair that I hosted in October, which was well attended by local employers seeking staff”.