EARLY on Saturday, July 31, 2004, another chapter in Selby's illustrious mining history came to a close when the last coal was brought to the surface at Stillingfleet Mine.

It was the fourth pit in the Selby complex to shut, and, when Riccall Mine finally closes in September, 21 years of coal production in Selby will have come to an end.

Stillingfleet, just outside the village of Escrick, opened in January 1988 and was part of a 20-year project to create one of the world's biggest deep-pit complexes.

At one point, the mine employed more than 600 men and was one of the first pits in the country to mine a million tonnes of "black gold".

The coal it produced was then prepared and sent to Drax, Eggborough and other major power stations in the country.

It had an impressive safety record, as did all the Selby collieries, with one death in 16 years.

Development worker Graham Steele died in September 1988 after suffering serious injuries when a high-powered jet exploded in his face.

The only other major incident occurred in April 1992, when eight miners were trapped after a roof collapse. All of the men were rescued without injury.

By the mid-1990s, it was the UK's second most productive pit, behind neighbouring Wistow, which closed earlier this year.

Stillingfleet played a major part in the Selby complex, producing a world record of more than 12 million tonnes of coal in 1994, making a profit in excess of £100 million.

With the privatisation of British Coal, Selby, the "Jewel in the Crown" of the coal industry, was taken over by RJB Mining, which was later bought out by UK Coal, in January 1995.

But the glory days were not to last, and miners struggled against geological faulting which has fragmented the Barnsley coal seam.

North Selby mine was merged with Stillingfleet in 1997 to concentrate activities in more favourable areas, but coal prices and productivity continued to fall.

The complex dug out only five million tonnes in 1999 and was starting to haemorrhage money. Three years later, UK Coal announced that it would close the ailing pits by Spring 2004.

Stillingfleet, along with Riccall, gained a last-minute reprieve in December, to allow thousands of tonnes of remaining coal to be accessed, but this was little consolation to 200 miners facing redundancy.

In the last financial year, the remaining mines at Wistow, Riccall and Stillingfleet lost a total of £30 million - bringing the complex's total losses in the last four years to £126 million.

All that remains now is to salvage millions of pounds worth of high-tech equipment left half-a-mile below the surface, and the story of mining at Stillingfleet will be consigned to books and memories.

Updated: 09:21 Saturday, July 31, 2004