Six Bells mine disaster relatives' bid to stop school plan

Relatives of men killed in the Six Bells colliery disaster in Abertillery are fighting plans to build a £7.2m school on the memorial site.

A 20m (66 ft) Guardian statue was built to commemorate the 45 men killed on 28 June 1960 when there was a gas explosion 1,000ft (300m) underground.

Friends and family of those killed have objected to Blaenau Gwent council's £200,000 primary school bid.

But a council spokesman said the school would "enhance" the site.

Campaigner Wendy Partridge lost her father-in-law and brother-in-law, Billy and Tony Partridge, were both killed in the explosion.

"It took us 50 years to have the lasting memorial," she said.

"It's lovely now but when the school is there it'll be horrible, to be honest."

Mike Kelly of Six Bells Regeneration said: "The miner is really amazing.

"A playing field will be directly in front of the miner.

"We accept they need to build a new school but the way they're going to do it - they're taking away the car park and viewing facilities.

"They're altering the access to the grounds."

A council spokesman said: "The new school is not in any way intended to detract from the significance of the Guardian memorial, but we hope will serve to enhance it by involving our young people in its historical importance to their community and the story behind its existence."

He added: "In terms of car parking, as a part of the design process we will be working to try to protect the current car parking provision and in relation to the view of the Guardian this is something we will also be working to protect, maybe looking at the possibility of different access points and routes if required."