Cortonwood: More help needed now than during miners' strike - charity

Denise Lelliott said the community was still fighting the war of inequality 40 years after the strikes started

A former mining community needs more help now than it did during the strike 40 years ago, a charity has said.

Cortonwood Comeback Centre in South Yorkshire has been supporting people since 1986 in the aftermath of the 1984-85 miners' strike .

Trustee Denise Lelliott said it had "come full circle" as people living in Brampton Bierlow and nearby villages struggled with the cost of living.

"There's more demand now for what we do than what there's ever been," she said.

The proposed closure of nearby Cortonwood Colliery was the tipping point for the national strikes in 1984.

"I was 14 and remember police horses chasing miners up our street, running into our house," she said, flicking through black and white photos showing police officers arresting men.

"I was angry. I still am angry."

• Why the 1984 miners' strike began and how it ended

• 'There was heartache but we had to keep going'

• Ex-mining towns falling further behind - charity

Photos from the miners' strike are used to teach children at a youth club held at the centre

Ms Lelliott's mother helped start the centre to provide support to people affected by the sudden unemployment brought on by the closure of the pit.

"I never thought when I was here with my mum in 1986, that we would have come full circle," she said.

"There's more demand now for what we do than what there's ever been.

"It's worse than what it was after the strike. You've got people now who are working and coming and accessing our services because they've run out of wages."

Barry Morton helped set up the group Men In Sheds, which is based at the Cortonwood Comeback Centre

The centre is a warm space to help people during the winter, supported by gas company Cadent. A food bank is also run from the centre, as well as a social group for older men, such as former miner Barry Morton.

"So far, we've saved one marriage and saved a man's life," the 68-year-old said, standing in the boiler room underneath the community centre.

He is one of about a dozen men who go to the Men In Sheds group and do woodworking or just have a cup of tea.

He recognises how his friends might feel more comfortable sharing their problems together, rather than with their family or a doctor. He said the community help was important for everyone who used the centre.

"I'm not going to say they're poor, but they wouldn't be coming here if they weren't struggling," he said.

Ms Lelliott said she saw no end to the struggle her community now faced like it did 40 years ago when her friends and family walked out on strike.

"It was a battle for our rights and our community and our people. We might have lost that battle, but we're still fighting the war," she said.