Welsh miner is laid to rest

Hundreds of mourners braved teeming rain yesterday to pay their last respects to a miner killed in a colliery disaster.

David Powell, 50, is the last of four men to be laid to rest following the underground tragedy last month.

His friends and fellow workers Philip Hill, 44, Garry Jenkins, 39, and Charles Breslin, 62, also died in the disaster.

Three weeks ago rescuers confirmed that all four had been killed at Gleision Colliery, near Pontardawe, South Wales.

Floodwater had engulfed a tunnel where the men were working together on the morning of 15 September.

Funeral services which each attracted hundreds of mourners have already taken place for Mr Powell’s three workmates.

A feeling of deep shock continues to reverberate through the close-knit communities of the Swansea Valley.

More than 200 mourners filed into the small church.