Kellingley Colliery: a brief history

When the two giant 800 metre shafts at Kellingley Colliery are sealed, 50 years of mining history will come to an end.

It was once Europe's biggest deep mine, at its height employing up to 3,000 people.

COAL BY NUMBERS: the rise and fall of deep-mining

Coal from Kellingley has actually been dug from this ground since pre-Roman times. It fuelled the Industrial Revolution and was still providing power for electricity generation as recent as three years ago.

But now cheap coal imports and shale gas development mean there is little demand for coal from this site. All that will remain is a labrynth of tunnels, the train ridden by miners for years and new state of the art mining equipment, that bosses were unable to sell on.

Kellingley has clung on longer than any other mine. But today, miners' torches will be turned off for a final time. The last ton of coal will go to the National Coal Mining Museum.

IN PICTURES: the last day at Big K

It will take months to make this site safe. The redevelopment will be handed over to Haworth Estates.

A sight too painful for many to witness, as generations of miners today concede that their much loved industry has now become a thing of the past.