THE real stars behind miners’ strike film Pride have been called back into action to help save Britain’s last three deep pits from closure.

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) will stage a march on Saturday January 31 in a bid to secure the survival of the Kellingley, Thoresby and Hatfield collieries.

And members of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) are busy polishing their marching shoes — 30 years after they first united with miners to fight Thatcher’s coal closures.

Mike Jackson, Jonathan Blake and Gethin Roberts, whose role in founding LGSM was portrayed in Bafta-nominated Pride, will all join the Kellingley rally.

Mr Jackson said yesterday that he hoped Pride’s popularity would bolster public support for the fight to save British mining.

“It’s truly amazing that, 30 years on, the LGBT community are among the first troops that miners under threat called for help,” he told the Star.

“We hope to help force the government to do something decent for British working-class people for once.”

Labour MP Sian James and Dai Donovan of the Neath, Dulais and Swansea Valley Miners Support Group are also throwing their weight behind the campaign.

Pride shows how both played leading roles in building solidarity with LGSM during the miners’ strike.

Members of both groups will attend a special screening of the film being staged in Kellingley after the rally.

Miners and their lesbian and gay supporters are reuniting for the march on the suggestion of Mr Donovan’s son Carwyn, who now works at Kellingley pit.

Kellingley NUM delegate Keith Hartshorne said their support was a boost to workers, who have already seen 120 colleagues sacked and are braced for another batch of redundancy notices in April.

Looking ahead to the protest, he said: “It’s going to be the sequel to the film but where we actually succeed this time.

“Hopefully this will keep the pits in the public view and put pressure on the government to deliver state aid.”

Miners’ MPs Dennis Skinner, Ian Lavery and local Labour MP Yvette Cooper will also speak at the rally.

Skinner blasts ‘paltry support’ for deep coal

MINERS’ MP Dennis Skinner blasted Con-Dem ministers yesterday for their “paltry” support for Britain’s last three deep pit coalmines.

Kellingley, Thoresby and Hatfield could all close next year with the loss of more than 1,700 jobs without government support.

The government has so far only invested £10 million to help the “managed closure” of two of the mines.

A spokesman said yesterday that it was looking closely at plans to keep the mines running beyond 2018.

Mr Skinner pointed out that the government took £700m from the miners’ pension fund last February.

And he told the Star: “Just £70m of state aid would be sufficient to enable the three pits to exhaust their reserves.

“The Tory-Lib Dem plan is to give the mines just a paltry sum of money to last beyond the election.”