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No Flood Problems at Hapton Valley
15 Feb 1974
Hapton Valley Colliery and Padiham Power Station
The pickets are "camping" outside Padiham Power Station.
Coal production at Hapton Valley Colliery can re-start the day after the miners' strike ends, despite previous fears that flooding would seriously damage the workings. Pumping at the colliery is being done without any problems and the roadways and faces are in good condition. At Padiham Power Station pickets have effectively stopped all coal supplies, and the only reported problem has been caused by miners parking their cars on the main road outside the plant.
Mr William Harling, superintendent at Padiham Power Station, said: "Everything on the picket side is very quiet because we have no materials coming in. The power station has been running for some time every day since the start of the strike. We are running on our stocks." Mr Dick Bentley, local secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers said that from a picketing point of view everything was going as planned. All the picketing has been peaceful and there have been no incidents.
Perhaps the most anxious of all for the return of the miners is Prince, the pit watchdog, who has been on a silent vigil since the strike was called. For the past six years, the Alsatian has kept a watchful eye on Hapton Valley Colliery, as well as being a firm friend of the miners. Mr Vincent Cowley, undermanager, said: "He knows almost every miner who works here, and he's missed his mates."
