Miners to share £2m compensation

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Miners who lost their jobs when Northumberland's last deep mine closed are set to receive their first payments in a £2m settlement within a month.

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said 350 former staff at Ellington Colliery would get about £6,000 each.

Owners UK Coal said floodwater made the mine unsafe and it was not able to give the statutory 90-day redundancy notice before closing the pit in 2005.

Following a High Court judgement, the firm has now agreed to start payment.

UK Coal sought legal advice after the judgement last October, but agreed to the deal on Tuesday.

Ian Lavery, the NUM's president, said: "This is an important day for Ellington miners, who lost their jobs through no fault of their own.

"The closure of Ellington Colliery was a major blow to the local community and the economy of the North East, and the compensation payments have been a long time coming."

Norman Haslam, UK Coal human resource director, said: "Whilst the process has taken far longer than we anticipated, the constructive discussions held with the NUM and BACM in recent weeks have resulted in outstanding issues being amicably resolved."