A BRONZE statue is to be erected as a memorial to the hundreds of miners who lost their lives in Bolton’s worst pit disaster.

Westhoughton Town Council has commissioned Jane Robbins — the artist who created the Fred Dibnah statue in Bolton — to sculpt a tribute to the 344 men and boys who were killed in the Pretoria Pit disaster on December 21, 1910.

The statue will depict a miner, crouched on a stone plinth with a lamp and a pick lying beside him.

It will be erected in Ditchfield Gardens, alongside a granite wall which will name every miner who was killed.

The Mayor of Westhoughton, Cllr David Chadwick, said: “The Pretoria Pit disaster is part of the history of Westhoughton so it is very important we recognise the 100th anniversary.

“Looking at Jane Robbins’ previous work, I’m sure the statue will be wonderful and a fitting tribute to all those who lost their lives.”

The accident at the Hulton colliery affected almost every family in the town.

Only three miners survived the explosion, which is believed to be the largest loss of life in an accident in any English pit.

The town council has budgeted £20,000 for the statue and a further £10,000 for the granite wall.

Ms Robbins will spend a couple of months creating the life-size statue in clay in her Shropshire studio. A foundry, in nearby Oswestry will cast it in bronze.

She said: “I was delighted to be asked by the town council to create this memorial. I submitted a few designs to the council and they’ve chosen the one they think is most suitable.

“Their memorial will last forever because it is made from bronze.

“The miner will be there long after our children, and even their children, are gone. It really is a memorial in the true sense of the word.”

The statue will be erected in time for the 100th anniversary of the disaster next year.