A JUDGE has cleared the way for some North-East miners to receive compensation for a crippling industrial disease.

Roger Maddocks, a specialist lawyer with Newcastle solicitors Irwin Mitchell, said a number of miners were a step closer to being compensated following the hearing in the High Court in Manchester.

However, other ex-miners and their families who have lodged compensation claims over the industrial disease Vibration White Finger (VWF) will have to wait until another round of negotiations are completed before any further progress can be made.

Hundreds of North-East pitmen and their families are claiming compensation for loss of feeling in their fingers caused by operating heavy drills, picks and boring machines underground.

After the hearing, Mr Maddocks said: "The judge has clarified a number of aspects which will enable progress to be made on some cases. She has also indicated an area in which parties have got to negotiate further."

It is understood that there is still a dispute over what length of time a miner needed to have spent operating heavy equipment to qualify for compensation.

But Mr Maddocks said: "What the judge has done will facilitate the settlement of some cases and she has also clarified the terms on which cases can be settled under the handling arrangement."

Although more than £900m has already been paid out in VWF compensation, concerns have been expressed over how long it is taking to investigate and settle certain groups of cases.

Mr Maddocks has been heavily involved in co-ordinating VWF claims against British Coal on behalf of hundreds of thousands of claimants.

The Department of Trade and Industry has taken over British Coal's liabilities.

Although 80,000 VWF claims have already been settled, many thousands of sufferers have yet to have their claims investigated.