A FIRM hoping to create more than 600 coal-mining jobs in Whitehaven is inviting people to register their interest in a position this weekend.

West Cumbria Mining (WCM) is hoping to extract coking coal off the coast of St Bees, with a processing plant on the former Marchon site at Kells. WCM has pledged that at least 80 per cent of jobs, during construction and operation, will go to locals.

On display to the public at WCM’s office at Haig Mining Museum this weekend will be the revised mine design, plus the chance to register an interest in working there. Plans are expected to be lodged with Cumbria County Council in January 2017, and it is hoped the operation would begin in 2019.

Mike Starkie, Copeland's mayor, said: "This is a fantastic opportunity for anyone seeking work with West Cumbria Mining to attend the event and put their name forward.

"The company is looking to recruit over 600 people to fill these posts. This is a good news story for Copeland and I would ask that anyone who is interested to visit Haig Mining Museum to get their names on the list."

The coking coal would be extracted from under the sea and transported to the surface using an underground conveyor belt. It would then be treated at the former Marchon site and transferred to a train loading facility on a siding built by WCM south of the new Mirehouse train station proposed by NuGen, the firm behind a new nuclear power station at Moorside near Sellafield.

Workers would be employed in three shifts and the processing plant, using around a third of the former Marchon site, would be covered by a dome.

This weekend's event, featuring a complimentary barbecue and refreshments, runs on Saturday (10am to 4pm) and Sunday (11am to 3pm). For more information, visit www.westcumbriamining.com.