Nottinghamshire mineworkers had traditionally been more conservative than those elsewhere; a trait going back as far as the General Strike in 1926. Additionally, it’s thought that they believed they were immune from the mine closures because they had some of the most modern pits in the country. In consequence, a lot of them continued to work through the strike. And that set the scene for the county to become a battleground between working miners and striking miners, striking miners and police.

Striking miners were bussed in from around the country to support those local miners who were on strike. They were billeted at the homes of supporters across the area, with many staying in Nottingham itself then being shipped out to the various local picket lines.

With each passing day, Nottinghamshire took on more and more characteristics of a police state. Police roadblocks were set up on roads in the vicinity of local coal mines. Vehicles were stopped, occupants questioned as to their destinations, vehicles were searched, paperwork of all descriptions – from newspapers to leaflets – examined and confiscated, and occupants were even questioned about which political party they voted for. On one occasion a friend of mine was ordered to open the boot of her Mini car (about three feet wide and nine inches deep) on the grounds that she might be concealing pickets in there!

Houses were raided on the grounds that they might be harbouring ‘flying pickets’ and police brutality towards striking miners and their supporters was common and quite blatant.

This was all entirely illegal but such activity was par for the course by then. Margaret Thatcher had made it clear that political opposition was to be put down at any cost: she had even labelled the striking miners “the enemy within”.

Nonetheless the strike rolled into it’s second year, sustained by immense levels of public support (regardless of what the tabloids wanted people to believe).