SUPPORT is growing for a campaign to erect a lasting monument to mining on the derelict Bickershaw Colliery site.

MP Andy Burnham, Wigan Council and development agencies have backed a call from former Leigh woman, Mary Sayers, to honour the men who worked and were lost down the pit in its 125 year history.

Mary, who hails from Plank Lane, and whose father died at the pit which closed in 1992, was shocked when she recently returned to visit the area .

She decided to launch a crusade through the Journal for a memorial on the Plank Lane site.

As a result Mary, who lives in Buxton, received numerous responses from ex-Leigh miners and their families -- and from Australia.

It now seems likely that her wish will come true when new life is breathed into the community as part of the National Coalfields Programme.

The former pithead is owned by the North West Development Agency and the tip area by Wigan Council who have agreed to consider suggestions.

Feasibility study

A spokesperson for English Partnerships, responsible for delivering the coalfields programme, said the two owners are conducting a feasibility study on the development of the site which will include a variety of mixed uses.

The outcome of the report is likely in six months time, and it is anticipated plans for a memorial will be included

Mary, who said the present site is an insult to the memory of the men who died there, is delighted by the response.

She said: "I was contacted by people who worked at Bickershaw or who had fathers or grandfathers who did, but I've also had replies from Australia.

"None specified the type of tribute they would like to see, although several regret the fact that the colliery was completely demolished and not developed as a heritage centre.

"A typical comment was that there is an urgent need for a permanent monument to those who endured a lifetime in such a pitiless working environment."

She added: "I feel that the ideal solution would be a centre that would explain the history of the area and the impact of mining on the villages and towns of the Leigh and Wigan coalfield, and that recorded the names and stories of those who died or were injured, but a commemorative sculpture is better than nothing at all."

"I wrote to Leigh's MP who was encouraging in his response,so was Wigan Metro who indicated to me that they would discuss the matter with the North West Arts Council or with the development agencies."

Cllr Brian Thomas, who is also behind the campaign, said ideas for a monument should come from former miners themselves.

MP Mr Burnham said: "I hope that when the site is developed, hopefully in the not too distant future, a fitting memorial is incorporated."