THE bitterness and anger were etched in the thick coal dust on Brian Wood's face as he stepped out of the mine shaft and into dazzling sunshine.

"I feel betrayed. They asked us to come to Selby and told us we would be looked after," said Mr Wood on learning that he would be out of a job in 20 months.

But his main concern was for his son Gary, 24, who followed his dad into the industry at Wistow Mine, part of the Selby pit complex which will close in spring 2004.

Mr Wood, 48, a coalface worker at Wistow, believed his son, a mechanical fitter, had a secure future.

"Gary has only just come into the industry and now there's nothing for him," said Mr Wood, of Flaxley Road, Selby.

"Like most miners I have a mortgage to pay and we've all been thrown on the scrap heap.

"I went into the pits at 17 and mining is all I've ever known. Getting another job at my age isn't going to be easy.

"With the right investment this pit could have been saved but we've been sold down the river. It would never have happened if we hadn't been privatised."

UK Coal says the average redundancy pay-out will be about £22,000, which Mr Wood dismissed as "scandalous".

Wistow electrician Clive Tennant, 46, who is also National Union of Mineworkers' branch president at Wistow, said: "I firmly believe that in ten years time, this country will regret the decision to close the Selby coalfield.

"There are millions of tonnes of coal left beneath our feet and if UK Coal isn't prepared to invest in mining it, then the Government should.

"The shadow of closure has been hanging over us for years. We were expecting it, but it still comes as a shock."

Wistow faceworker Peter Feeney, 37, said: "We were half expecting the closure announcement, but at the same time hoping it wouldn't happen.

"I came here from West Yorkshire nine years ago but never moved to Selby. You can't uproot your family and buy a new house when there's talk of closure all the time.

"I've never felt secure here and I'm better off out of it now."

Updated: 11:53 Wednesday, July 17, 2002