COLLIERY survivor Nigel Kaye is used to moving on.

One after another, the pits he has worked at during nearly 40 years have closed ... including Grange Moor, Caphouse and Emley Moor.

But one aspect of his life in that time has never changed - he still likes going to the same pub, the Hare and Hounds at Upper Hopton.

Now the faithful regular has been presented with a painting of his favourite pub which he still visits regularly, despite living more than 20 miles away at South Hiendley, near Barnsley.

The watercolour had pride of place in the bar until a refurbishment more than a year ago.

Nigel noticed it had been moved to a back corridor and feeling it was in the wrong place, asked the owners if he could buy it.

New pub manager Matthew Hoyle, as a token to Nigel's loyalty, was happy to present it to him.

Nigel, who works as a colliery surveyor at Maltby pit near Rotherham, lived at Liley Lane, Grange Moor, for many years before he had to move to stay in mining.

"With fewer and fewer pits as time goes on it means working further away, but I've always preferred the Hare and Hounds to any other pub.

"All my friends and family are in the area and its a good place to meet up," said Nigel, 57, who often visits with his wife Jenny and son Edward.

"I'd always liked the painting and all I knew was that it had been painted in 1996 and from the signature that the artist was D Morrell."

* We can reveal the picture is the work of Dalton watercolourist David Morrell who started painting seriously about 10 years ago on retiring from teaching art at Holmfirth High School.