Miners at Rossington colliery near Doncaster, South Yorkshire have voted to end their lengthy strike action.

They walked out in August in their dispute over bonus payments.

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said that 58% of those balloted said they wanted to return to work.

But many feel their pay situation is no better than it was before the industrial action.

Final offer rejected

The pit has been at a standstill since August 15 because of a dispute over the amount of coal which workers are supposed to produce to qualify for bonus payments.

Chris Skidmore from the NUM said: "The management sent out a letter telling them there was nothing else on the table to talk about, apart from the last offer they made us.

"So they unanimously rejected that final offer and decided they'd suffered enough hardship.

"We're back to the same incentive scheme that we started with - the one that we couldn't make any money on."

Earlier this month, the miners returned to work at the pit in for just one day before going back on strike.

The NUM's legal advisors advised that the move would safeguard the workforce against dismissal.

Second ballot

Under employent legislation brought in by the Labour Government, a striking workforce is protected against dismissal for just eight weeks.

The legality of staying out for any longer had never been been tested in the courts.

The NUM held a second ballot over the second period of industrial action at Rossington.

Workers said bonus payments counted for up to a third of their wages and production targets were too high.