THE Government was last night under mounting pressure to close a legal loophole robbing sick and injured miners of millions of pounds in compensation.

Thousands of former pitmen and their widows have seen payouts cut by an anomaly in English law which campaigners say must now be overturned.

The 1954 Limitations Act, which limits the time period for civil claims, bars miners from claiming for exposure to coal dust before that date.

But the Act does not apply to Scotland where claims under the Government's coal health compensation scheme are accepted from 1949.

This effectively means that claims for lung disease north of the border take into account an extra five years of a man's employment history - providing extra cash for some claimants.

The flaw has been highlighted by the case of retired County Durham miner Nicholas Robson, 86, whose lungs were damaged by coal dust from 35 years in the mining industry.

Mr Robson, of Trimdon Station, received little more than £7,000 in compensation because his claim could only be assessed from 1954 up until his retirement in 1967.

His daughter, Lynne, said: "Why should my father be prejudiced against in this way? Like a lot of elderly miners, he worked in some of the worst conditions possible. He would come home black from head to toe with coal dust in the early days.

"The extra five years between 1949 and 1954, during which he was a coal cutter, could have made a hell of a difference."

The Government could agree to ignore the 1954 Limitation Act for the purposes of the coal health compensation scheme with the approval of a High Court judge.

But privately, ministers are thought to fear that to make such a crucial change could open the floodgates and lead to pressure to alter other aspects of the scheme.

Roger Maddocks, a member of the claimants' solicitors group, which is pushing the Government to adopt the same position as in Scotland, said: "This is an anomaly in the law and one that is very unfair.

"I would be amazed if it did not affect thousands of cases running into millions of pounds.

"By relying on the law of limitation, the Government avoids paying compensation for injuries which they would be liable for in Scotland."

Former Easington NUM Lodge Secretary Alan Cummings said many older miners were being particularly affected.

He said: "Many of the older men are in for a shock when they've discovered just how little they're being offered.

"It is clear that these people should receive fairer treatment wherever they live in the UK."

Easington MP John Cummings said: "I am extremely concerned about this as it would seem to affect thousands of miners.

"I will be writing to Energy Minister Brian Wilson and seeking ways to address this imbalance."

A Department of Trade and Industry spokesman said: "In theory, because the Limitations Act does not exist in Scotland, the timescale for claims there could have been open ended.

"Scottish solicitors agreed to impose a limitation of 1949, which was around the period that the coal industry was nationalised.

"Ultimately, agreements were put in place to ensure that fair and just levels of compensation are offered to miners and their widows in both jurisdictions."