21/05/2026
THE BATTLE FOR HUNTERSON: MINERS VS POLICE
On Tuesday 8th May 1984, 2,000 policemen were deployed to Hunterston Ore Terminal to protect coal lorries from picketing miners.
The National Coal Board (NCB) had announced on 6th March 1984 that it intended to close 20 unprofitable coal mines across Northern England, Kent, Wales, and Scotland, with the loss of 20,000 jobs. Several coalmines were given advance notice of the announcement. At Polmaise Colliery, Scotland, the miners went on strike on 21st February, and at Cortonwood Colliery in Yorkshire, the miners went on strike on 5th March 1984.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) declared a national strike on 12th March 1984, which was led by Arthur Scargill. The strike would last almost a full year and became “the biggest industrial dispute in post-war Britain.” Around 165,000 miners desperate to keep the coalmines open and save their communities went on strike.
Forewarned Thatcher’s government made advance preparations for the potential strike, which included stockpiling six-months’ worth of coal to keep the power stations running, and setting up teams of mobile police units to prevent flying pickets from stopping the transport of coal to the power stations.
Ravenscraig Steelworks near Motherwell received 14,000 tonnes of imported coal from the Hunterston Ore Terminal near Fairlie each week with a further 10,000 tonnes of coal being supplied by Polkemmet colliery. With the Polkemmet miners on strike, their sole source of coal now came from Hunterston.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) signed off on permitting Ravenscraig to receive two trainloads of coal from Hunterston daily. On 27th April 1984 the miner’s and rail unions both agreed to send only one trainload of coal.
To ensure Ravenscraig’s survival, the British Steel Corporation announced on Wednesday 2nd May 1984 that the rest of the required coal would be transported by road. The police were notified that a convoy of Yuill and Dodds coal lorries (from Strathaven) would be leaving British Steel’s Hunterston Ore Terminal bound for the Ravenscraig Steelworks within a few hours. Forty policemen were on duty at Hunterston when 15 lorries left the ore terminal.
On Thursday 3rd May, the number of picketers surrounding Hunterston had grown so much that additional police reinforcements were pulled from West Kilbride and Largs to help the convoy of lorries to get through. Meanwhile at the Ravenscraig Steelworks, a violent clash between the miners and police occurred, resulting in the arrest of 300 picketers.
On 4th May 1984 the miner’s and rail unions decided to stop the daily trainload of coal in response to the scab coal lorries.
The situation escalated. On Monday 7th May 1984, 1,000 picketing miners’ clashed with police when they tried to prevent 58 coal lorries from entering Ravenscraig. The lorries successfully entered through a back gate, and 52 picketers were arrested.
At the Hunterston Ore Terminal, hundreds of picketers tried to prevent the lorries from entering and leaving. 21 were arrested after smashing lorry windows. Wire meshes had to be erected over the lorry windows to protect the drivers.
The most serious and violent clash between the police and picketers at Hunterston occurred on 8th May 1984. 2,000 policemen were drafted in from all across the Strathclyde region to ensure that the lorries got through. While 1,000 picketers were just as determined to stop them. Just before lunchtime mounted police arrived, and at 12.30pm word came that the returning lorries were close. About 1pm, the 39 Yuill and Dodds lorries successfully flew through the entrance to Hunterston within three minutes, while a fierce battle took place between the miners and police. 64 picketers were arrested and four people had to be treated in hospital for injuries.
The 20 journalists, tv and radio reporters who were present, were corralled on the roundabout near the entrance to the Hunterston Ore Terminal, with strict orders not to leave it. Mounted police were also deployed at Ravenscraig with 65 miners being arrested.
The Yuill and Dodds coal lorries were provided with police escorts between the two sites and the 40-mile route was saturated with police vehicles ensuring that the coal lorries got through.
In the days following, further mass picketing at Hunterston was prevented by stopping coachloads of miners outside Glasgow and Ayr. On 10th May, eight coachloads of picketers from the West Fife, Clackmannanshire and Stirlingshire area were stopped on the A80 at Stepps who were headed for the picket lines at Ravenscraig and Hunterston, and nearly 300 were arrested.
At Kilmarnock Sheriff Court, the 85 picketers arrested at Hunterston pleaded not guilty before Sheriff Smith. Their trial dates were set for September and October. The miners were granted bail on the condition that they did not go within two miles of Hunterston. One picketer Alastair Ferguson, aged 30, was fined £100 to be paid within three months, with the possibility for an extension if the strike wasn’t over.
On 11th May it was announced that the Triple Alliance in Scotland (formed of the National Unions of Miners, Steelworkers and Railwaymen) had agreed to allow 18,000 tonnes of coal into Ravenscraig, with a further agreement taking place on 17th May which allowed the supply of coal to return to normal.
By January 1985, the National Union of Miners (NUM) was beginning to run out of money to pay the strikers, and many miners unable to feed their families, began drifting back to work. These men were treated with compassion, compared to the scabs who had continued to work throughout the strike.
On 3rd March 1985, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) held a special conference to vote on whether to end the strike. It passed by a narrow margin. The miners returned to work on 3rd March 1985.
