One of the North-East's all time football heroes has backed a Northern Echo campaign to remember those who died in the northern coalfields.

Former Newcastle manager and player Kevin Keegan has lent his name to the campaign to mark the mass burial trenches where many of the 168 men and boys who died in the Burns, or West Stanley, pit disaster.

After all Keegan's grandfather, Frank Keegan, was a hero of the 1909 tragedy.

Frank was one of a few dozen miners who escaped the massive explosion that February day and even went back underground in an attempt to save his 'marras,' or work mates.

Now his grandson, currently manager of Manchester City, Kevin Keegan, has backed The Northern Echo's campaign to mark the graves of many of the men and boys who lie at St Andrew's Church in Stanley.

He said: "I think that it is a wonderful idea to honour the heroes of the West Stanley Pit Disaster in this way. Sadly it is 93 years too late for the families of those who died, but I wholeheartedly support this campaign."

Kevin Keegan was also heavily involved in a successful attempt to have a new memorial erected in the town back in 1995. Keegan officially unveiled the monument which publicly commemorates the miners who lost their lives. But, like us, he also believes the final resting place of the men and boys who died should also be marked, even though many of the families of those men no longer live in the town.

Amateur historian into the disaster Dave Bainbridge welcomed the news that Keegan had backed the campaign but asked that other heroes be remembered. Heroes like Mark Henderson who actually saved many of the men. He led many men and boys who were running in the wrong direction into poisonous gases to safety and received a bravery award.

Mr Bainbridge also pointed out that there was at least one other memorial to the men apart from the one unveiled by Kevin Keegan. The other, built by money raised by the Working Men's Club movement in the years that followed the disaster, originally stood outside the former town hall on Front Street but was moved to Stanley Crematorium before the Second World War. The graves of the men buried at the catholic St Joseph's are marked.

The Northern Echo's campaign is simply to mark the graves of the dead miners at St Andrew's.