Danger warning over old mineshafts

DANGER: concerned Ray Taylor uncovers a mine shaft on Crompton Moor

CROMPTON Moor is riddled with dangerous uncovered mineshafts — some hundreds of feet deep.

Ray Taylor is highlighting the danger for those who walk the moors, and calling on Oldham Council and the Coal Authority to raise awareness of their existence.

Mr Taylor has been searching for the shafts for over 20 years; his pet dog almost drowned in one that had become waterlogged, overgrown and hidden.

The moor was once a coal mining hotspot, with five collieries and two large quarries.

As the industry collapsed, hundreds of shafts were left disused and the moor became a popular walking hotspot and playground for youngsters - including Mr Taylor.

“When I was a child in the 1960s, we used to play in those shafts and think nothing of it,” he said. “I’m horrified to think about that when I look back.

“I first found an uncovered shaft 23 years ago. I have carried on looking for them and have found well over 150. Most are covered with grass. Some are only a few feet deep, some are 300ft deep.

“I know how to spot them, and I know the area really well - but even I don’t know every spot.

“My dog, Rosie, fell in an old shaft filled with water last week. I had to drag her out. That shaft wasn’t open last year, so that is another problem: they keep developing.

“Someone who doesn’t know the area could really hurt themselves.”

When Mr Taylor finds deep shafts he contacts the Coal Authority - the government body responsible for managing the effects of past mining - which caps them.

“They have done about four I have told them about, but say others aren’t bad enough to fill in yet,” said Mr Taylor. “If shafts are low on the moor and near people’s houses, they keep an eye on them. A lot were filled in in the 1970s, but they’ve been forgotten about now.”

Shaw and Crompton parish councillor John Hall has joined Mr Taylor’s safety plea.

He said: “A lot of shafts covered decades ago are opening again, because they were covered with wood, which rots. There are no warning signs to make people aware. This is a serious situation.

Oldham Council’s countryside service is talking to the Coal Authority about the shafts, and has also spken to Rochdale Council, on whose side of the moor many of the shafts are located.

Coal Authority teams provide emergency response and make safe serious hazards reported to them.