NORTH-EAST miners showed their support for striking firefighters with a £1,000 donation to their hardship fund.

David Hopper, general secretary of the North-East region of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), visited the Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue headquarters in Framwellgate Moor, Durham, yesterday.

He took with him the miners' union banner, which will stay at the station during the strike.

He said: "We're looking to show solidarity with the Fire Brigades' Union and will support them as long as this dispute carries on."

He added: It's vitally important that the whole of the trade union movement gets behind these people. These are men on the front line every day, protecting people's lives."

Mr Hopper, who was on the picket line in the early 1980s during the miners' strikes, said: "The firefighters have more popular support than the miners ever had.

"It's time Brown and Blair realised the public are on the side of the Fire Brigades' Union."

The North-East branch of the NUM donated £1,000 to help those who are particularly struggling with the loss of wages.