A FORMER coal miner has made his own tribute to the men and boys who died in the area's worst peacetime disaster.

Billy Johnstone, who has a stall in Durham City Indoor Market, has spent £1,430 making 100 commemorative plates in memory of the 1909 West Stanley Burns Pit Disaster.

If they all sell at a price of £20 each, he will donate all the £500 profits to The Advertiser's Memorial Appeal.

Mr Johnstone, of Murton, said he was inspired to make the plates by The Advertiser's campaign to mark the graves of the 54 victims who were killed in the explosion and lie in mass, unmarked burial trenches in Stanley.

Mr Johnstone has almost 400 plates, which he has collected from former mines from Scotland to Kent.

The coal mining history enthusiast said when he started his collection, he was surprised that the only two County Durham collieries which had commemorative plates were Wearmouth and Murton.

Since then he has had plates made for a number of collieries, including Dawdon, Seaham and Vane Tempest, to help raise cash for local history campaigns.

The plates are on sale at Mr Johnstone's stall, from Monday to Saturday.

Anyone interested in the campaign, which has raised almost £3,000 to date, or who has information about the disaster, can call reporter Chris Webber on (01642) 675678.