THE son of a miner has written his second book - and he hopes the topic will resonate with residents across the town.

Mike Padgett, 71, now lives in Sancton in East Yorkshire but he grew up in Athersley North as a youngster.

He first hit the Chronicle headlines in the 1970s when he and two friends travelled around Australia in a camper van - culminating in his first book release in 2021.

But his second novel is a lot closer to home.

Called SCRAP, the work is set in a former mining village ten years after its pit closed and follows the lives of an ex-miner and his family as they struggle to adapt to their new way of life.

Mike told the Chronicle: “I’m from a mining family myself and I could see the gradual decline of the area, and other areas like it, after the pit closures.

“Thankfully it’s picking up now.

“My dad was a miner in Barnsley nearly all of his working life and I think many people in the town will identify with the family’s struggle and would be interested in reading it.

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“It’s set around ten years after the pit closure and one of the metaphors I use throughout is a man fixing up a broken motorbike.

“It shows that things started off to be broke, but people are trying to make it better.”

Mike will host a book signing event at The Book Vault in the town centre on July 29 - and Ian McMillan and Professor Steven Linstead have endorsed the book.

It can be found on Amazon.