TOWNSFOLK gathered today (Monday, February 16) to mark the anniversary of one of the North-East’s deadliest pit accidents.

At exactly 3.45pm - the time the explosion tore through West Stanley Colliery on February 16, 1909 claiming 168 lives - wreaths were laid at a colliery wheel memorial in the town’s Chester Road.

Today’s commemoration included a two-minute silence and readings by Year Six pupils of Greenland Primary School. The group then made its way to the site of the shaft head, behind North Durham Academy, where a further wreath was laid.

The event was organised by a number of local groups, including Stanley Past and Present, Stanley Positive Action Group and Stanley Chat, while Stanley Town Council providing funding for the wreaths.

Event co-ordinator Jaene Davies said: “We mark the event every year.

“I think it is crucial that we remember the disaster. It is something that needs to be passed on from one generation to the next. It reminds us all where we have come from.

“It’s not that long ago, either. Many people can still remember it and how it affected lives.”

Local historian Bob Drake, who attended, told school pupils more about the disaster.

Resident were first alerted to the tragedy 106 years ago by a muffled bang followed by a loud roar from Burns Pit.

As flames shot more than 1,500ft into the air, thousands of men, women and children rushed to the colliery and immediately tried to get into the pit's workings.

But no trained rescue team was available and there was no suitable equipment to remove wreckage - and no one knew where the trapped miners were located.

It was only 14 hours later that the first survivors could be brought to safety.

Meanwhile 168 miners lay dead underground, killed by the force of the explosion, from burns or carbon monoxide poisoning.

In one street of 14 houses, 12 men died.

One of the heroes of the disaster at West Stanley Pit was former Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan’s grandfather.

He was rescued initially but praised for his bravery after returning underground to help fellow pitmen escape.

In 1995, while he was Magpies’ manager, Mr Keegan unveiled the colliery wheel memorial to commemorate the disaster.