A miner made redundant by the closure of Maltby colliery has mused on the irony of Margaret Thatcher dying a few days later.
Maltby, one of the last deep mines in the country, closed two weeks ago after owners Hargreaves Services said it was no longer viable due to cost and safety concerns.
Paul White, 50, of Kingsway, Wombwell, is a machine fitter and one of more than 200 laid off by the firm - though he is only one of a handful who will employed for the next seven weeks salvaging machinery and materials.
"There's a really strange atmosphere with all my friends gone," Paul said. "I was at Prince of Wales colliery before Maltby, but only for three months, because it closed. "Someone there told me not to be there at the end because it's so depressing.
"But that's what I've ended up doing this time. It does seem strange Thatcher dying at the same time this is all ending."
An apprentice at the time of the 1984 strike, he was laid off and was unable to take part but went on to work as a contractor for Amco for 20 years.
After working all over the country he decided to 'settle down' in 2001 and found work at Maltby. Of the 540 employed at the mine, 150 have been redeployed while 250 are now out of work according to the NUM. Others are believed to have found jobs elsehwere.
Paul said he was now at a loss as to what to do for work so late in his career. He said: "It isn't easy finding a job for someone my age. If Hargreaves hadn't taken me on for another eight weeks I wouldn't have anything now.
"I keep applying and have had a few interviews but I qualified as a fitter in 1985 - I'm a bit of a dinosaur."
