HOPEFUL Freeminers are awaiting the outcome of a £3million lottery bid that would help bring new miners into the industry.

The bid was submitted at the end of last month, amidst the opening of a new coal mine at Hopewell Colliery – the fourth mine in operation in the Dean.

Robin Morgan, now well in his 70s, continues to mine at Hopewell.

"It's remarkable that he is able to work well and live that life," said Jonathan Wright, secretary of the Freeminers' Association.

"He's one of the biggest experts in the Forest on coal mining so it's no surprise that he wants to carry on."

The mine provides a setting for potential new blood as the Freeminers' Association attempts to breathe new life into a thousand-year-old history.

"The grant we may get from the lottery bid would really help people who are thinking of mining as a career," Mr Wright explained.

"People don't think of it as a job choice but local people have the opportunity to mine in the area and its a shame that they do not think they have that chance.

For the full story, read The Forester