Gleision Colliery disaster: Full inquest will go ahead, coroner rules

Watch: Report by ITV Wales correspondent Richard Morgan.

A full inquest into the deaths of four men who drowned in the Gleision Colliery disaster will go ahead, a coroner has said today.

Charles Breslin, 62, David Powell, 50, Philip Hill, 44, and Garry Jenkins, 39, all died when the mine they were working in near Cilybebyll, Neath Port Talbot, flooded in 2011.

Their families have been campaigning for the full inquest for years, saying important questions have been left unanswered.

The new inquiry is set to examine the state regulation of mining at Gleision in the years leading up to the disaster.

Acting Senior Coroner Colin Phillips told the hearing at Swansea Guildhall that he acknowledged that resuming the inquest would be "challenging and complex", but he said it was practical and would be worthwhile.

He said that it is his view that there was "more than a suspicion" that safety regulations hadn't been followed at Gleision for more than a decade.

He added that he'd also given significant weight to the wish of the families of the four victims to see the inquests resumed.

The four men were killed when water filled the shaft they were working in after a routine blasting operation.

Mr Phillips said it was possible to argue that without the alleged failings, there was a real chance the deaths might have been avoided.After the verdicts, a statement from the family of the four miners was read out on the court steps. It said: "Today has been a difficult day for us all, as have the last two and a half years since we lost our loved ones at the Gleision mine. "We miss Gary, Phillip, Charles, and David deeply. Not a day has passed without wishing they were still with us. "The events of September 15, 2011, will stay with us for the rest of our lives."