I don't think I have met a single constituent who has not had a miner in their family at some time in the recent past

Rachel Squire MP

Dunfermline West MP Rachel Squire admitted that the continued existence of the Longannet pit near Kincardine, on the banks of the Forth, was a case of "survival against the odds".

But there is now a fear that the underground flooding which has halted production at the pit could be the final straw for the mine and the estimated 500 people who work at the complex.

Ms Squire, whose constituency includes Longannet, told BBC News Online Scotland of the pivotal role mining had played in the recent history of the region.

"Fife is very proud of its mining tradition," she told BBC News Online Scotland.

"It always wanted to maintain deep mining and it has seen its other pits shut over the years.

There are rich seams of coal at the complex

"I think Fife has always had a very strong attachment and I don't think I have met a single constituent who has not had a miner in their family at some time in the recent past."

You only need to go back 20 years to find a time when there were 4,000 miners working at 21 pits in Fife alone.

"Back after the Second World War in the 1950s there were something like 35 mines in Fife and thousands of miners," said Ms Squire.

However, the death knell for the pits began to sound in the 1960s and 1970s, with the Frances Colliery at Dysart the last to cease production in 1985.

"People see it as a big part of their life. It is part of their growing up and it is part of their family history," said Ms Squire.

Deep reservations

Longannet may have survived the decimation of the mining industry, but it has not been short of problems in recent years.

Ms Squire recalled how the trade unions had approached her three years ago with deep reservations about the future of the pit.

"It looked as if the mine was on the verge of possible closure," said the Labour MP.

Rachel Squire represents the area

"We sorted it out then and it has been sorted out on a few occasions since, but one thing you cannot sort out is the geology and this sort of flooding disaster."

The UK Government has invested �41m into the mine, a figure which has been more than matched by private investors and the mine's owners.

However, the mine was still continuing to lose money.

Some 170 redundancies were announced last November and the pit moved to single face working.

Ms Squire said there was "an awful lot" of coal still in the mine's rich seams - but the efforts to excavate it had faced one obstacle after another.

Geological problem

"It started to look good in January. The mine was turning out coal at a record rate, but then there was a geological problem and a Health and Safety Executive ban on the one explosive that was suitable," she recalled.

Engineers are now assessing the damage caused when more than 17 million gallons of water flooded underground workings on Saturday.

Ms Squire acknowledged that the problems now being faced by Longannet were "very serious" - for both the workers employed at the pit and the hundreds of jobs which would be affected as the knock-on effect hit local companies.

Longannet employs some 500 people

Men from across central Scotland are employed in the mine, and the workings spread out from Fife into other neighbouring areas.

However, Ms Squire said there would be a "considerable" economic impact on Fife itself if such a major employer was to close.

"There is lots of associated employment and it would certainly hit strongly the west Fife area," she predicted.

The Scottish Coal board will meet on Thursday to consider reports on the incident and members are due to meet UK Energy Minister Brian Wilson the following day.

Ms Squire said she would be keeping in touch with the company, Mr Wilson Scottish Secretary Helen Liddell and the unions.

But she admitted: "There seems nothing else we can do but hope that it is not as bad as it looks."