Thousands of gallons of water have flooded the mine's workings.

Thousands of gallons of water flooded the pit two weeks ago.

UK Coal said the mine had now become economically unviable, and that attempting to continue mining there could endanger workers' lives.

But National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) president Ian Lavery said it was "ridiculous to play the safety card."

The firm said it had invested more than �8m in the site since 2001, much of it on equipment which will not be recovered from the flooded coal face.

UK Coal's chief executive Gerry Spindler defended the closure decision.

'End of an era'

He said: "Restarting work would be a safety issue, with the potential of increasing the water flow and the possibility of people becoming trapped.

"This is a dedicated workforce and the last pit in the North East so it's not an easy thing to do.

"We have no plans at the moment for the land other than clearing the remaining coal stocks from the surface."

Alan Sambrook, leader of Castle Morpeth Council, said: "Our efforts must now go to helping the miners find new employment with retraining, help with job applications and whatever other support is needed."

Many of the Ellington miners also live in the Wansbeck district of Ashington, Bedlington and Newbiggin, and Wansbeck Council is seeking talks with mining unions and UK Coal to discuss the impact on the local economy of Ellington Colliery.

Employment opportunities

Alan Beith, MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed, said: "This is a very serious blow to the economy of the area.

"We all knew it would happen one day, but not enough has been done in advance to generate alternative jobs."

UK Coal said the closure was likely to come into effect in the next week or two, but that no decision had yet been made on redundancy arrangements for workers.

According to regional development agency One NorthEast, public sector organisations will be meeting on Thursday to address issues faced by the Ellington miners.

Alan Clarke, the agency's chief executive, said: "We are already working with our public sector partners to put the necessary plans in place to offer the best possible opportunity of new employment for Ellington workers."