:00:00. > :00:10.Good evening. I'm live in Senghenydd where one hundred years ago today an
:00:11. > :00:22.accident changed the lives of people here forever.
:00:23. > :00:32.I could see the flame in my lab getting dimmer. He could see a boy
:00:33. > :00:36.shouting for his father. They went to work but never came home. A
:00:37. > :00:40.series of explosions at the colliery took the lives of 440 men in what
:00:41. > :00:43.still is Britain's worst ever mining disaster.
:00:44. > :00:47.Today, on the anniversary, a new national mining memorial has been
:00:48. > :00:54.unveiled. Every man who died that day remembered with their names
:00:55. > :01:00.placed on tiles. For a community that has been
:01:01. > :01:04.scarred by such an experience and the scars have come down through the
:01:05. > :01:17.generations, a place to remember helps that healing process.
:01:18. > :01:22.Also tonight. Budget cuts at one of our largest councils could see more
:01:23. > :01:29.than half its libraries close and ten day centres shut too. Its leader
:01:30. > :01:32.calls it an armageddon scenario. Board members leave after talks
:01:33. > :01:35.round the table but Cardiff City still have their manager. Malky
:01:36. > :01:43.Mackay's agent says his man won't be resigning.
:01:44. > :01:47.Good evening and welcome to Senghenydd where I'm standing in the
:01:48. > :01:51.new national mining memorial which was built to remember the 440 men
:01:52. > :02:03.who lost their lives in Britain's worst ever pit explosion. At ten
:02:04. > :02:13.past eight on 14 October 1913, there was a series of underground
:02:14. > :02:25.explosions at Universal Colliery. The statue here depicts a miner
:02:26. > :02:29.helping another. The anniversary has brought everyone together in this
:02:30. > :02:33.village. They've been working hard to raise money for the memorial and
:02:34. > :02:36.many have been involved in the service here this evening. In a
:02:37. > :02:41.moment, school pupils will be taking part in a lantern parade. They will
:02:42. > :02:45.walk from their school which was built on the site of the mine. But
:02:46. > :02:48.first Nick Palit reports on the memorial which will remember those
:02:49. > :03:09.miners who sacrificed their lives for coal.
:03:10. > :03:15.The pit head hooter sounds a century on from Britain's worst mining
:03:16. > :03:19.disaster. At ten past eight on October 14 1913, 439 men were killed
:03:20. > :03:31.in an underground explosion at the Universal Colliery. The death of any
:03:32. > :03:37.minor was and is a tragedy for their family and friends. And so the
:03:38. > :03:43.National mining memorial commemorates all those killed over
:03:44. > :03:47.the years. The years that the lack God has been dead out of the land.
:03:48. > :03:51.Today on the site of that pit, a new sculpture is unveiled in a ceremony
:03:52. > :03:59.to officially open the Wales National Mining Memorial. This is
:04:00. > :04:03.important for the nation. We must remember what we have achieved as a
:04:04. > :04:08.peep will, as a nation. We changed the world. Around the special
:04:09. > :04:11.memorial garden, tiles etched with the names of every single miner who
:04:12. > :04:20.perished here. A hundred years on, many relatives still live in the
:04:21. > :04:28.same community. They really are thinking of them. They gave their
:04:29. > :04:31.lives. For a community which has been scarred by such an experience,
:04:32. > :04:35.those scars have come down through the generations. A place to remember
:04:36. > :04:38.helps that healing process. Two miners, one being helped to safety,
:04:39. > :04:41.a lamp lighting a path to the future, is how scultptor Les Johnson
:04:42. > :04:51.has described his ?120,000-statue. It is a commission he's immensely
:04:52. > :04:57.proud of. I have tried to represent the mining community of Wales and
:04:58. > :05:05.the village community here and how they have always altogether --
:05:06. > :05:08.pulled together in adversity. Aaron and Katie, two pupils from the
:05:09. > :05:11.primary school which now stands on the site of the colliery helped
:05:12. > :05:14.officially unveil the statue. In the classroom, the story of the
:05:15. > :05:19.children's great grandfathers has brought history to life. Many people
:05:20. > :05:30.have died and they were not much older than is. We have a feud
:05:31. > :05:34.children whose great grandfathers died in the disaster. They talked a
:05:35. > :05:37.lot about it and they brought their lamps in and they brought different
:05:38. > :05:42.things their grandfathers had passed down. The Aber Valley Male Voice
:05:43. > :05:45.Choir is just one of many local groups who've been raising money
:05:46. > :05:48.towards this centenary event. Now in a time where pits no longer dominate
:05:49. > :05:51.our industrial landscape, there's a place ancestors of fallen Welsh
:05:52. > :06:13.miners can come and reflect on the sacrifices made for coal.
:06:14. > :06:17.The womenfolk from the village looking for their men. 439 men were
:06:18. > :06:21.last in the disaster 100 years ago this morning. Coal was big business
:06:22. > :06:25.a hundred years ago and the lives of the pit ponies were considered to be
:06:26. > :06:42.more valuable than those of the miners. Almost every home here lost
:06:43. > :06:51.someone in the accident a century ago. A reporter that came out here
:06:52. > :06:55.100 years ago said you could walk up the streets in this village and see
:06:56. > :07:14.a Coffin in every other house in the front room. 950 miners went down
:07:15. > :07:19.that bit on that Monday morning. But 439 men and boys never return. The
:07:20. > :07:26.accident was the worst ever in Britain. Almost every home in the
:07:27. > :07:34.village last somebody will stop the explosion was heard in 11 miles away
:07:35. > :07:39.in Cardiff. The pit is to attract a lot of miners because it paid a
:07:40. > :07:48.little bit more than elsewhere. People put up with the conditions.
:07:49. > :07:54.Hilary Barbrook last of her grandfathers in the explosion. The
:07:55. > :08:02.families were left wondering how they would survive. How does a
:08:03. > :08:06.mother look after eight children? She would clean houses, do the
:08:07. > :08:09.washing, anything to get the money envelope when somebody loses someone
:08:10. > :08:15.in the family, you always have people rally around to help. But
:08:16. > :08:20.they were all in the same boat. Everybody had somebody last. They
:08:21. > :08:28.could not have won another, they stood together and held an. Her
:08:29. > :08:35.paternal grandfather was never found. Like many whose bodies were
:08:36. > :08:41.never discovered. There were a couple of shaft at the mine. It was
:08:42. > :08:48.thought the first exploded when a spark ignited methane gas. That
:08:49. > :08:53.caused a chain reaction. Those who did not die in the explosion killed
:08:54. > :09:02.by a lack of oxygen. The lucky ones managed to escape through the second
:09:03. > :09:11.shaft. They were trapped and they died. The waiting began. Rescuers
:09:12. > :09:16.battled for days to recover the dead and the wounded. One man died during
:09:17. > :09:24.the rescue. The day after the explosion, 18 men were found alive
:09:25. > :09:29.and they were to be the last. Horace knows of the dangers of working
:09:30. > :09:35.underground. He lost his grandfather and a couple of uncles on that day.
:09:36. > :09:43.My grandfather was the head of the rescue. He was up and down the pit
:09:44. > :09:52.all the time rescuing men and then he heard that his son was still down
:09:53. > :10:01.the pit. He said I am going down and he went down to rescue him. The gas
:10:02. > :10:09.hit both of them. This is not the first time there was an accident at
:10:10. > :10:21.this pit. In 1901, 81 minus died -- men died. After the accident, the
:10:22. > :10:26.manager was fined ?24 and the following year, the owner was fined
:10:27. > :10:35.?10 foot up in today's money, that means each life was worth five and a
:10:36. > :10:40.half p. They came from all over the country to work here. Many of the
:10:41. > :10:51.men who died were bedded in this cemetery. This is the grave of three
:10:52. > :10:59.brothers. The sense of John and Jane Evans from North Wales. Three sons
:11:00. > :11:02.who died on one day in October. The first funeral was held three days
:11:03. > :11:09.after the accident. This footage shows how the whole community was
:11:10. > :11:16.affected more than 1500 dependents were left without a breadwinner. The
:11:17. > :11:20.tragedy 100 years ago today will never be forgotten in this
:11:21. > :11:22.community. This memorial is a poignant reminder and a fitting
:11:23. > :11:31.tribute to the men and boys who lost their lives to coal. That is a
:11:32. > :11:35.re-enactment of perhaps what may have happened 100 years ago with the
:11:36. > :11:39.help of music and theatre and children playing here a little
:11:40. > :11:43.later. Virtual everybody you talk to hear was touched in some way by the
:11:44. > :11:53.tragedy that happened here 100 years ago. Lindsay Whittle is with me. You
:11:54. > :11:59.last great grandfathers. Yes, he was just 42 years of age. He left a wife
:12:00. > :12:12.and a number of children behind. Does your family now how they coped
:12:13. > :12:18.question might? They took in seven lodgers to a small terraced house.
:12:19. > :12:26.What effect does it have on the following generation? It must have
:12:27. > :12:30.touched them as well? We will never forget this explosion in this
:12:31. > :12:34.valuable to the community have worked hard to put on this wonderful
:12:35. > :12:38.day. Out of tragedy, there has to be some good and today has been
:12:39. > :12:45.magnificent. We will never forget all those young men and boys who
:12:46. > :12:56.lost their lives. What do you think is the legacy of what happened here
:12:57. > :13:03.Cuesta Mike? The National union was strong but those days are now gone.
:13:04. > :13:07.We will still be campaigning for justice in modern society as well.
:13:08. > :13:12.We owe it to the memory of those men and boys. Thank you very much for
:13:13. > :13:18.joining us. We will have more later in the programme. The rest of the
:13:19. > :13:21.day's news now and the second biggest local council in Wales is
:13:22. > :13:23.proposing to close more than half its libraries because of budget
:13:24. > :13:27.cuts. It's one of a range of services that
:13:28. > :13:33.Rhondda Cynon Taf is looking at scaling back as it tries to save ?56
:13:34. > :13:37.million over the next four years. Our political reporter Daniel Davies
:13:38. > :13:40.joins me now. Dan, the leader of the council says it's armageddon for
:13:41. > :13:42.local government It's stark language from the Labour leadership of the
:13:43. > :13:51.council which blames the UK government's austerity cuts. But
:13:52. > :13:56.that?56 million you mention works out at a little over three per cent
:13:57. > :13:59.of the council's annual budget. The biggest savings would come from
:14:00. > :14:05.nurseries, raising the age at which children can go full time and
:14:06. > :14:08.changes to youth services. Councils say they have very limited room to
:14:09. > :14:10.manoeuvre because most of their money pays for statutory services,
:14:11. > :14:14.education, social services. So things like libraries take the
:14:15. > :14:16.biggest blow. 14 out of 26 would shut under these proposals,
:14:17. > :14:20.including the library in Pontyclun. We spoke to people there this
:14:21. > :14:30.evening. Here's what they had to say. Most of us have paid all our
:14:31. > :14:36.lives for services. It is just a matter of time before we fall in
:14:37. > :14:42.line with everybody else. Disgusted. There are other things that could be
:14:43. > :14:50.cut back on. These will affect the children and schools. Some things
:14:51. > :14:55.they spend money on needlessly and other things which are essential at
:14:56. > :14:58.totally ignored. Meanwhile in the Assembly, the Conservatives say
:14:59. > :15:01.council tax should be capped? Yes, although the Welsh Government says
:15:02. > :15:05.that's hypocritical, because how would you pay for it? It also says
:15:06. > :15:13.that local councils haven't felt the full force of austerity yet. They've
:15:14. > :15:18.been shielded from it. But that's changing. All 22 will find out how
:15:19. > :15:21.much they're getting from the Welsh Government next year on Wednesday.
:15:22. > :15:25.They know already that the funding is being cut. Welsh Government is
:15:26. > :15:28.putting more into the NHS and local councils will pay the price. So you
:15:29. > :15:32.can see why council's like Rhondda Cynon Taf are saying that the cuts
:15:33. > :15:44.they're setting out here may not be enough.
:15:45. > :15:49.The sister of a schoolboy from Caersws, killed when a football
:15:50. > :15:52.goal-post fell on him, has died in a car crash. 18-year-old Kelly Marie
:15:53. > :15:57.Breese, was killed when her car crashed into a tree on Sunday. Two
:15:58. > :15:59.years ago, a metal goalpost fell on her 12-year-old brother Casey,
:16:00. > :16:03.killing him while he played with friends.
:16:04. > :16:07.The Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales has been cleared of
:16:08. > :16:10.any wrongdoing during his election campaign. Winston Roddick had been
:16:11. > :16:14.accused of lying about his home address to make him eligible for the
:16:15. > :16:18.post. The police watchdog, the IPCC, says there's no evidence to support
:16:19. > :16:22.the claim. Public Health Wales says it's been
:16:23. > :16:26.notified of a further four cases of measles associated with a cluster in
:16:27. > :16:29.South West Wales. It brings the total number of cases to nine. Seven
:16:30. > :16:36.of those are associated with Cwmtawe School in Neath Port Talbot.
:16:37. > :16:39.A woman has been taken to hospital after reports of an explosion at a
:16:40. > :16:43.house in Pembrokeshire. Several homes were also evacuated in Hakin
:16:44. > :16:48.near Milford Haven. The fire is thought to have been caused by gas.
:16:49. > :16:51.The former leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Nick Bourne, has been
:16:52. > :16:55.officially welcomed into the House of Lords today. He'll be known as
:16:56. > :17:00.Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth in the Upper House.
:17:01. > :17:03.Miners at Wales' largest mine have met with union officials after the
:17:04. > :17:06.announcement from the owners they were filing for administration.
:17:07. > :17:10.Unity Mine near Glynneath employs 220 people. The company says the
:17:11. > :17:15.falling price of coal means they have to make cutbacks. And as Cemlyn
:17:16. > :17:18.Davies now reports, local businesses are worried about the impact job
:17:19. > :17:21.losses could have on the wider community.
:17:22. > :17:24.Four days after their employers announced they were filing for
:17:25. > :17:27.administration, these miners gathered for today's union meeting
:17:28. > :17:35.in Cwmgwrach with more questions than answers. Desmond Ganderton has
:17:36. > :17:43.spent four years at Unity. His son Luke joined him there two years ago.
:17:44. > :17:52.It is very hard to pay our way with heating bills, food and mortgages.
:17:53. > :17:56.It is very hard. Me and my girlfriend are struggling and tables
:17:57. > :18:03.of lending money of parents and her parents. Basically, looking at the
:18:04. > :18:07.situation. We are looking at places like Australia and moving away
:18:08. > :18:11.because that is nothing else about. Michael Thomas knows just how hard
:18:12. > :18:15.it is to find a new job in this area. He was an electrician at the
:18:16. > :18:22.TRW car parts factory in Resolven which closed in February 2011. I
:18:23. > :18:26.have had one job performance. I am actively looking for employment.
:18:27. > :18:33.That is not a lot around here. A lot of firms are shifting. The
:18:34. > :18:36.collieries have gone. In nearby Glynneath, there are concerns about
:18:37. > :18:39.the knock on effect further job losses would have. This cafe has
:18:40. > :18:45.already suffered after Aberpergwm colliery closed earlier this year.
:18:46. > :18:52.Every Friday we would get the egg order from them. That was 50 or ?60.
:18:53. > :18:56.Now, that is gone. It is something every week. It gets quieter every
:18:57. > :19:00.week. Glynneath rugby club is at the heart of the community but here too
:19:01. > :19:03.they've felt the impact of recent redundancies. Fewer people are
:19:04. > :19:11.visiting the club for a pint and turning up on a Saturday to support
:19:12. > :19:17.the local side. People is to go out a lot more. It was more of a
:19:18. > :19:20.community then than it is now put up shops shutting down and the pubs are
:19:21. > :19:26.shutting down. That is nothing, nothing at all. There is still hope
:19:27. > :19:29.Unity Mine can stay open and jobs can be saved. But having lost so
:19:30. > :19:34.much in recent years, this community is bracing itself for the worst.
:19:35. > :19:37.The future looked uncertain for the workers at the Remploy factory at
:19:38. > :19:41.Fforestfach in Swansea when it closed last year. Now, seven of the
:19:42. > :19:44.workers have come together to form a co-operative on the site of the old
:19:45. > :19:46.factory. They've invested their redundancy payments into the new
:19:47. > :19:55.business, which will assemble and manufacture furniture. Back in work
:19:56. > :19:59.after over a year. Ray Donovan was one of 15 workers in Swansea who
:20:00. > :20:05.lost his job last year when the factory closed. He and six other ex
:20:06. > :20:15.employees have invested their redundancy packages in this scheme.
:20:16. > :20:19.It is a job. It is an enterprise we have all put money into. That is a
:20:20. > :20:24.business here and it is a market here. It means everything to
:20:25. > :20:29.everybody. The factory closed last year after the UK government said
:20:30. > :20:32.the jet for disabled employment services could be spent more
:20:33. > :20:39.effectively. Deciding to reinvest the money into other schemes. The
:20:40. > :20:43.closure of the last factory in Wales marked the end of an era which began
:20:44. > :20:52.in 1946 when the company opened its first factory in Bridgend and
:20:53. > :20:55.playing ex-servicemen to make loans. Kevin Edwards is managing director
:20:56. > :21:02.and is now focusing on the future after a tough few years. It was a
:21:03. > :21:08.huge blow. They were 52 people here originally. They lost their jobs and
:21:09. > :21:16.it was very upsetting. This scheme has had a wide range of backing. We
:21:17. > :21:23.will be here to support them every step of the way. Their business plan
:21:24. > :21:27.shows they can employ about 25 people. We will help them get to
:21:28. > :21:32.that size of business. This cooperative has made sure as one
:21:33. > :21:38.door closes, another one of them. Football. Malky Mackay's agent has
:21:39. > :21:41.told BBC Wales that the Cardiff City manager won't be resigning. Mackay
:21:42. > :21:44.met the club's board today after the removal of his head of recruitment
:21:45. > :21:51.Iain Moody last week. Here's our sports reporter Ashleigh Crowter. It
:21:52. > :21:56.had been in the diary for weeks. As directors left their scheduled board
:21:57. > :21:58.meeting this afternoon, he must have realised discussions were of vital
:21:59. > :22:06.importance to the future of the dreadful sop high on the agenda,
:22:07. > :22:14.managing the fallout of the decision to replace one member of staff
:22:15. > :22:17.within and known from Kazakhstan. The manager was invited to the
:22:18. > :22:26.meeting to seek clarification of his own future. What has been revealed
:22:27. > :22:30.today is the clash of cultures. The manager is concerned that his values
:22:31. > :22:35.may be at odds with those of the Malaysia and businessman and he will
:22:36. > :22:40.be seeking reassurances that he would be able to run the football
:22:41. > :22:46.part of the club without an deal interference from above. He is said
:22:47. > :22:51.to be concerned about the lack of information passing on to the fans.
:22:52. > :22:57.He sought to reassure supporters that he would not be resigning as
:22:58. > :23:08.manager. That is no prospect that he will be resigning from a job that he
:23:09. > :23:14.loves and he is ensconced in. His decision to stay might not there
:23:15. > :23:22.after the match and the powers that be deciding that he should stay.
:23:23. > :23:28.There has been no official word from the club they are expected to
:23:29. > :23:30.comment soon. Time for the weather forecast. Behnaz is here. What's in
:23:31. > :23:41.store for us? We are more likely to the drier and
:23:42. > :23:47.brighter conditions tomorrow. A foggy start first thing. If you show
:23:48. > :23:51.was lingering in few parts of the North and East. A quiet night. We
:23:52. > :23:56.will see clear spells and some mist and fog forming. In the
:23:57. > :24:01.countryside, it could get a little bit lower than that. A dry night.
:24:02. > :24:05.The editor of low pressure will move to the North Sea. A little bit of a
:24:06. > :24:08.break but we have another area of low pressure waiting out in the
:24:09. > :24:15.Atlantic and that will unsettle things through Wednesday. Tuesday is
:24:16. > :24:23.looking fairly decent. Once the mist and fog lifts, it will be a right
:24:24. > :24:28.and dry day. It is a fine day at the odd isolated shower. We have got
:24:29. > :24:32.like twins as well. It is looking quiet at first tomorrow night. Some
:24:33. > :24:37.clear skies but overnight we will see a weather front bringing with it
:24:38. > :24:43.some clout from the south-west. The wind is picking up and the rain
:24:44. > :24:50.coming into Pembrokeshire by dawn. Overnight temperatures a little bit
:24:51. > :24:56.milder. We are going into Wednesday morning with a wet and windy start.
:24:57. > :24:59.It is looking drier and brighter by the afternoon. We will see a few
:25:00. > :25:05.showers which could be heavy at times. That is above the average
:25:06. > :25:09.temperature for this time of year. For the rest of the week, we have
:25:10. > :25:15.showers to come on Thursday. On Friday, more wet and windy
:25:16. > :25:17.conditions heading our way. It beautiful picture of a sunset in
:25:18. > :25:28.temperature. -- in Pembrokeshire. That's it from us here. For the
:25:29. > :25:36.final word tonight, let's return to Jamie in Senghenydd.
:25:37. > :25:42.Thank you very much and welcome back. It has been a most
:25:43. > :25:47.extraordinary day here, one of high emotion and also one of
:25:48. > :25:49.commendation. Also, one of celebration, of life going on after
:25:50. > :25:54.the terrible accident and hundred years ago. The worst ever mining
:25:55. > :25:59.accident in the UK for the bigger the children in the local school
:26:00. > :26:03.parading a torchlight to round off the ceremony at the end of this
:26:04. > :26:07.extraordinary day. Roy Noble is with me now will lead the commemoration
:26:08. > :26:12.earlier on today. He taught here at the school that now occupies the
:26:13. > :26:15.site of the old colliery and played rugby here for. It is with making
:26:16. > :26:24.the point that this is a national memorial, not just about the story
:26:25. > :26:33.of this quality. The men on the plinth behind me signify that. This
:26:34. > :26:40.is the national memorial. There are plaques denoting all the disasters
:26:41. > :26:47.in Wales. When we were here earlier on today, there were thousands of
:26:48. > :26:52.people lining the top of the valley. In the high street, they last 35 men
:26:53. > :26:55.there, there were people lining up there in their hundreds and on the
:26:56. > :27:00.slopes and on the roads appear. It is quite extraordinary the number of
:27:01. > :27:09.people who turned up. It still strikes a chord and the village has
:27:10. > :27:13.rediscovered it. It was only mentioned in projects in schools.
:27:14. > :27:22.But now they have rediscovered their heritage. That is much more on this
:27:23. > :27:28.tonight at 10:35pm. We leave you tonight with scenes from the
:27:29. > :27:30.children celebrating this centenary of the worst ever UK mining
:27:31. > :27:33.disaster.