Shortly after entering a former coal mine on Friday 18 July 2008, a man became unconscious due to lack of oxygen in the atmosphere. Although the emergency services rescued him, tragically he died in hospital on Sunday 20 July 2008.

Former coal mines with the associated shafts and adits are inherently dangerous environments and entry to these places should be totally avoided.

Mine workings often contain atmospheres which have very little oxygen and if encountering such, will kill people very quickly after entering. Mines may also contain flammable gas which could explode causing tragic consequences to anyone within the mine workings.

There are numerous other hazards associated with old mines, including collapses of ground and the Coal Authority emphasises that these places are extremely dangerous and should be avoided at all times.

The Coal Authority is the public body which deals with surface hazards arising from past coal mining activities, such as ground collapses, open mine entries, water and gas emissions from mines and spontaneous combustion of coal. Our emergency call out service deals with these incidents on a 24 hour basis every day of the year. Upon receiving a report of a coal mining hazard, we will arrange for the situation to be made safe and remediate those hazards for which we have responsibility.

To report a surface hazard, Tel: 01623 646 333

The Coal Authority
200 Lichfield Lane
Mansfield
Nottinghamshire
NG18 4RG