Local people making their corner of rural Britain unique
This week
Saturday 9thÌýFebruary
Caroline Sarll is in Hirwaun in South Wales this week to visit its' last deep mine, the Tower Colliery. Ìý
The made headlines around the world in 1994 when British Coal decided to close it down after deciding the mine wasn't profitable enough. Two million pounds was raised by 239 miners with each pledging eight thousand pounds from their redundancy payouts, allowing a buy-out group to be formed. However two weeks ago the Tower finally closed after running out of coal to mine.
Caroline visits the and talks to the pit manager, Tyrone O'Sullivan who has become almost as famous as the pit he helped save. He talks about how the mine will be 'put to bed' and explains what will be happening to the site. One of the miners, John Woods, talks about what the future holds for him now the pit is closed after dedicating 40 years of his working life to it. Caroline meets local businesswoman Judy Toms at the in Aberdare and describes her hopes to see the Cynon Valley restored as a tourist trap for walkers and art lovers. Caroline also visits Adrian Schofield at theÌý in Dinas and experiences working life in a mocked-up mine shaft. History Professor Chris Williams paints a picture of South Wales when coal mining was in its heyday at the and discusses the legacy of the Tower Colliery.
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