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

Billy Johnstone, of Murton, County Durham, 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 Northern Echo's Memorial Appeal.

Mr Johnstone said he was inspired to make the plates by the Echo'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, County Durham.

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

The coal mining history enthusiast said when he started his collection he was surprised that the only two Country Durham collieries with no commemorative plate 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 money for local history campaigns.

The plates are on sale at Mr Johnstone's stall in Durham City Indoor Market, 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.