A STUNNING miners’ union branch banner is in need of urgent repair if it to be paraded at major gala gathering next year.

The silk is wearing thin on the colourful Church Lane Dodworth NUM branch banner which is expected to cost £1,000 to restore to its former glory.

Former miner Eric Richardson, who is chairman of Dodworth Miners’ Welfare social club, is hoping to take the NUM banner to Durham Miners’ Gala next summer and is calling a meeting at the High Street club next month to discuss fund-raising for the repairs, which need to be carried out by a specialist.

The fund-raising meeting for the banner, which was first paraded in 1980, is also open to anyone interested in attending the Durham gala as the club is considering putting a bus on to take people there. It will be held on August 11 at 7.30pm at the social club.

Read more in this weeks Barnsley Chronicle