Miner's statue on county horizon

A Nottinghamshire 'miner' will look down over the county.

A £50,000 bronze statue of a miner is to be put up at the highest point in Nottinghamshire as a memorial to 150 years of mining in the county.

The sculpture of a miner holding a Davey lamp will stand at Silver Wood near Teversal and be unveiled in March.

The tribute to the coal industry will be set on a stone base bearing a plaque listing all the county's collieries and the years when they opened and closed.

Sculptor Antony Dufort's work includes the 'Bowler' at Lord's Cricket Club.

The scheme is being funded by the county council, the Landfill Tax credit scheme and a waste recycling firm.

Councillor Terry Butler, environment spokesman for Notts County Council, said the authority felt something was needed to commemorate nearly 150 years of mining across the county.

With Silverhill being the highest point in Notts, it was decided this would be the best site to have the statue looking out across all of the Nottinghamshire coalfields.