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 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 said: “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.

“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.