SOLICITORS are being overwhelmed with a flood of compensation claims from sick and injured miners ahead of the closure of the biggest personal injury scheme in legal history.

The Government-backed compensation scheme, which has paid out hundreds of millions of pounds to miners and families whose lives have been wrecked by crippling lung disease, ends on Wednesday.

North-East law firms are experiencing a surge in interest ahead of the deadline, and at least one has warned that it may not be able to accept every claim submitted on the day.

In February, 9,000 claims were registered in the North-East, according to figures obtained by The Northern Echo from the Department of Trade and Industry.

About 101,000 lung disease claims have been registered by miners and their families in the region since September 1999, when the High Court approved the setting up of a scheme underwritten by the Government that took on the liabilities of the former British Coal.

This amounts to £294m from a national total of more than £1bn paid out to date.

Solicitor Janet Cooper, of Browell, Smith and Co, in Newcastle, said: "The past few weeks have been manic and there is no sign of it tailing off.

"People have to give us a chance. There is no 100 per cent guarantee that we can accept claims left until the last day as we have to have time to turn things round and notify the Government claims handlers, IRISC."

She added: "The DTI has made it quite clear this is an absolute deadline and it is cast in stone.

"People don't need to be too worried about documentation at this stage. For live claimants, all we need is a name and address and for deceased, a name, date of death and details of the next of kin."

After Wednesday, all claims will have to be brought under normal court processes and costs will only be paid if the claim is successful.

Neil Wilkinson, a solicitor with Irwin Mitchell, in Newcastle, said its offices had taken a thousand claims in the past month.

He said: "There are obviously lots of families out there that have not given this a thought until the last month or so."

Thousands of former pitmen contracted crippling lung diseases, such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema, as a result of breathing in coal dust.

The Northern Echo launched its award-winning Justice For The Miners campaign to speed up the payment of compensation claims.

* A free DTI helpline - (0800) 0282138 - can put people in touch with their nearest solicitor.