FIVE local lads have won full-time roles with Banks Mining after completing plant operator apprenticeships at its Bradley surface mine.

Graeme Buckley, Liam Smith, Graeme Stott, Tommy Mayman and Damon Henderson have all successfully undertaken twelve-month training programmes at the site, which sits off the A692 between Leadgate and Dipton in County Durham and have now taken on permanent plant operator roles there.

The new recruits, who all live in and around Consett, are now qualified to operator a range of industrial machinery, including rigid and articulated dump trucks, fuel and water bowsers, and 360-degree excavators.

During their apprenticeships, they received direct training and mentoring from experienced members of the Banks Mining team and worked across a number of different roles to develop a range of skills and experience.

As part of his new role, Graeme Stott, who served in the RAF and also worked in mental health nursing before joining Banks Mining, has taken on the additional responsibility of being site safety representative for Bradley.

Eight apprentices have completed their training at Bradley over the past two years, with a further seven currently training on other sites.

Jamie Drysdale, manager at the Bradley surface mine, says: “Providing employment and training opportunities for local people was always a core part of the development of the Bradley project, and is an essential undertaking for both long-standing North East businesses like ourselves and for the sustainable success of the wider regional economy.

“The five lads have all done extremely well during their apprenticeships and thoroughly deserve to be full members of our highly-skilled Bradley team.”

Banks Mining is currently waiting on a planning decision from Durham County on a small extension to its surface mining operations on land to the west of the Bradley site, which would entail extracting around 90,000 tonnes of high quality coal for supply to UK industrial customers and 20,000 tonnes of fireclay for use by regional brickmakers.