TEIGNMOUTH may be a long way from the coalfields, but was still affected by the bitter miners’ strike of 1984, so vividly portrayed in the recent BBC series Sherwood.

Flying pickets arrived in the town in April in a determined effort to stop coal leaving the docks.

A front page report at the time declared: About 30 Welsh miners and over a dozen sympathisers gathered outside the docks entrance at first light, but failed to prevent the Polish coal being driven away in a fleet of lorries.

More than 15 police from Teignmouth, Newton Abbot and Torquay lined the road, but there was no trouble.

One picket however, complained he had been threatened with an iron bar by one of the  lorry drivers.

‘I approached the lorry to talk to the driver but before could say anything he  warned he had an iron bar in his cab and would use it on me if there was any disturbance.

‘We had made no threats against him whatsoever, and I reported the incident to the police

‘As far as we are concerned this is an entirely  peaceful picket line.   We have had a great deal of support from the dockers and most of them have refused to handle the coal  Unfortunately a few have decided to work, which is enough to unload the boat, but we are hoping they will change their mind and not discharge any more coal.

‘As far as we can tell the coal coming is phurnacite which is for domestic use. There is no need to import coal like this at all because there is enough coal stockpiled in South wales to supply all householders in the South West.

‘We hear there are other coal boats waiting to come into Teignmouth and we will stay here for as long as necessary  to try and stop them being unloaded.’

The pickets are from the Deep Navigation Colliery in Treharris, and most of them have been staying at the Newton Abbot Labour parliamentary headquarters in Highweek Road.

They claim Teignmouth is one of the last ports in the South West to be importing coal.

Also on the pickets line were Labour party members from Teignmouth and the Teignbridge area, along with representatives of several trade unions.

The miners jeered lorry drivers as they drove off, but there was little for police to do