'Monument' call for Hatfield mine head structures

The colliery was closed in June after nearly a century of coal production

A rally has been held at a South Yorkshire pit by campaigners wanting to preserve its mine head structures.

Hatfield mine, near Doncaster, closed in June with the loss of more than 400 jobs after almost a century of production.

The Hatfield Main Colliery Community Heritage Association said the structure should be preserved as a "monument" to the area's long mining history.

Any decision to retain the structures rests with the receivers.

Dave Douglas, from the association, said: "It is important that we preserve something, that we are not just wiped off the face of history without a trace."

The association would like the winding wheels and associated structures retained permanently.

However, John Grogan, chairman of Hatfield Employee Benefit Trust which operated the mine, said the receivers who takeover the site in August would have to weigh up a number of issues including health and safety and costs.

"It is important to remember what has gone before but it is also important that this site is, over time, redeveloped," he said.