Welsh mine deaths: Funeral of Philip Hill to be held

The funeral is to be held of Philip Hill, one of the four miners who died when a pit flooded in Swansea Valley. Mr Hill was killed at Gleision Colliery along with workmates Charles Breslin, Garry Jenkins and David Powell. His funeral service, the second to be held since the tragedy this month, will take place at Margam Crematorium, Port Talbot, at 14:00 BST. The 44-year-old from Neath had recently lost his mother and his son. Paying tribute to Mr Hill after his death, his family said they had "endured much tragedy" in the past 10 months, with the death of his mother Merle and son Simon. "We as a family have had our lives enriched with their presence and are now attempting to grieve their loss," they said. The funeral of Charles Breslin was held at Swansea Crematorium on Wednesday. The inquest into the miners' deaths opened on Tuesday at the Guildhall in Swansea. The hearing lasted a few minutes and was adjourned until a later date. It heard that the cause of the miners' deaths was exposure to flooded pit contents under pressure.