AS THE AXE fell on Murton Colliery, union official Alan Napier, right, stayed at the forefront of the of the last ditch battle to keep the pit open.

The fight,however, would eventually be lost and in those final months before closure Alan paid dearly for his militant action.

But nine years on the now powerful politician is leading the campaign to regenerate the region's coalfield communities.

Back in the early 1990s as the Assistant Secretary of Murton Mechanics Alan, a third generation pitman, believed the obliteration of the coal industry was an ill-thought out policy inextricably bound up with the dash for gas.

His views were to bring him into direct conflict with the then hardline management and for a man who thrived on the comradeship of his fellow miners his bosses invoked a deliberate policy of isolation towards him.

A well paid colliery electrician, Alan was demoted to a post of datal worker and forced to operate completely on his own.

And though he fought to the end, once his mining days were over Alan decided to move as far away from the industry as possible and trained as a mental health nurse.

Later he was to enter local politics and his sharp incisive intellect and determination to turn around the fortunes of the region soon saw his rise to leader of the District of Easington Council.

And in an ironic twist the pitman who fought so hard for his "marras'' is now back battling for their families in his role as the North-East Chairman of the Coalfield Communities Campaign.

"Though we still have a long way to go, much has been done since 1997 and I remain optimistic for the future of this area,'' says Alan.

And while he will never forget the struggle which brought mining communities to their knees he is confident they now have a future: "I look at it like a giant jigsaw, what we need to do now is get all the pieces in place for really effective regeneration to take place.''

And today Alan will be among those assessing how much progress has been made in the former mining towns and villages.