Today's Daily Telegraph reports the closure yesterday, with the loss of 340
jobs, of Ellington Colliery, the last working pit in what was once the
world's largest coalfield. The decision was taken after 1,200 gallons of water a
minute began flooding the last deep mine in north-east England. This
effectively means an end to 'coals from Newcastle' in an area that during the First
World War employed 224,000 miners and produced 50 million tons of coal a year.
C J Williams
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