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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Kellingley march marks end of British deep coal mining | Kellingley march marks end of British deep coal mining |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Three thousand people have marched to mark the closure of Kellingley Colliery in North Yorkshire, and with it the end of British deep coal mining. | |
| BBC Look North's Danni Hewson said miners from former pits around the country had felt they had to attend. | BBC Look North's Danni Hewson said miners from former pits around the country had felt they had to attend. |
| The march, organised by the GMB union, started at Knottingley town hall in West Yorkshire and finished with a rally at Kellingley Miners Welfare. | |
| Kellingley miners finished their final shifts at the pit on Friday. | Kellingley miners finished their final shifts at the pit on Friday. |
| Owner UK Coal said it would oversee the rundown of the mine before the site was redeveloped. | Owner UK Coal said it would oversee the rundown of the mine before the site was redeveloped. |
| The remaining miners at the 58-hectare site are to receive severance packages at 12 weeks of average pay. | The remaining miners at the 58-hectare site are to receive severance packages at 12 weeks of average pay. |
| 'The Big K' | 'The Big K' |
| Production began at Kellingley, locally called "the Big K", in April 1965. | Production began at Kellingley, locally called "the Big K", in April 1965. |
| It once employed 3,000 miners but its closure was announced in March, along with Thoresby in north Nottinghamshire, after the government refused further aid. | It once employed 3,000 miners but its closure was announced in March, along with Thoresby in north Nottinghamshire, after the government refused further aid. |
| In April, the government loaned £10m to UK Coal for the managed closures. In a written statement to Parliament, Business Minister Michael Fallon said: "There is no value-for-money case for a level of investment that would keep the deep mines open beyond this managed wind-down period to autumn 2015." | In April, the government loaned £10m to UK Coal for the managed closures. In a written statement to Parliament, Business Minister Michael Fallon said: "There is no value-for-money case for a level of investment that would keep the deep mines open beyond this managed wind-down period to autumn 2015." |
| GMB officer Phil Whitehurst said: "Now the final 450 miners, the last in a long line stretching back for generations, are having to search for new jobs before the shafts which lead down to 30 million tons of untouched coal are sealed with concrete." | GMB officer Phil Whitehurst said: "Now the final 450 miners, the last in a long line stretching back for generations, are having to search for new jobs before the shafts which lead down to 30 million tons of untouched coal are sealed with concrete." |
| Dave Douglass, of the National Union of Mineworkers, said: "It's very, very important that children and young people from the coal communities take part [in the demonstration] because this was their future. | Dave Douglass, of the National Union of Mineworkers, said: "It's very, very important that children and young people from the coal communities take part [in the demonstration] because this was their future. |
| "All them young lads in North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire who had long, well-paid futures in the coal industry have had that ripped away from them and absolutely nothing put in its place." | "All them young lads in North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire who had long, well-paid futures in the coal industry have had that ripped away from them and absolutely nothing put in its place." |
| Pam Ross, of GMB, said it was "a very sad time". | Pam Ross, of GMB, said it was "a very sad time". |
| "We will lose skills, traditions and culture associated with coal mining, and obviously suffer the social deprivation from communities losing their source of employment," she said. | "We will lose skills, traditions and culture associated with coal mining, and obviously suffer the social deprivation from communities losing their source of employment," she said. |