Festival's smoking stacks honour world's miners

The Wheal Uny stacks issued red, white, blue and green smoke to celebrate miners across the world

An international festival has opened with a striking visual celebration of miners.

Stacks of engine houses at Wheal Uny issued red, white, blue and green smoke to mark the three-day International Mining and Pasty Festival in Redruth on Friday afternoon.

The town's mayor, councillor Alison Biscoe, said the colours in the "emotional tribute" would reflect the twinned towns Mineral Point in USA, Plumergat et Meriadec in France and Real Del Monte in Mexico this year.

The festival will feature historical walks, heritage talks, a market and a pasty crimping competition.

A storytelling walk starting from Redruth's Tin Miner Statue led to the smoking stacks on Friday afternoon

The mayor said: "The smoking of the Wheal Uny mines is an emotional tribute to all those men, women and children across the world who have worked in mining."

A storytelling walk from Redruth's Tin Miner Statue headed to the Wheal Uny Mines, where the stacks were lit with smoke bombs.

The pasty competition is set for Saturday afternoon, and a church service after a pilgrimage walk from the Wheal Basset Stamps to the Wheal Uny Mines on Sunday morning will close the festival.