THE final nail in the coffin has been dealt to Kellingley Colliery after the Government announced it will not provide funding to keep the coal pit open for a further three years.

The last remaining deep coal pit in North Yorkshire will now close at the end of the year, with the lost of more than 500 jobs.

The mine was due for a managed closure this year, funded by a £4 million Government loan, but owners UK Coal then asked for more cash to keep the mine open until 2018 and help retrain the miners.

Today Business Minister Matthew Hancock said the extra £338 million, requested by UK Coal for both Kellingley and Thoresby Colliery in Nottinghamshire, did not represent value for money, equating the sum to more than £75,000 per UK Coal employee over the three year period.

UK Coal has since asked for a further £10 million so the closures can go ahead this year.

A rescue deal combining a £10 million Government loan and private cash collapsed in June, and a worker buy-out put together fell apart with the National Union of Mineworkers blaming UK Coal for insisting the mine takes on heavy debts.

Selby MP Nigel Adams said: "It's not an outcome that anyone wanted to see, however it is not a huge surprise to everyone involved given the fact that £300 million plus of tax payers money was asked for to keep the business going for only another three years.

"What needs to happen, and what is happening, is that the miners that will be losing their jobs are given support, advice and retraining to ensure they can find alternative employment."