PLANS to build a coal mine in Cumbria have caught the attention of one of the world's leading climate change experts.
In a letter to Brois Johnson, ex-NASA scientist James Hansen said that failure to stop the mine from going ahead at Whitehaven would be in "contemptuous disregard" for the future of young people and nature.
The new facility, which will be used to extract coking coal for steel production, has been granted planning permission by Cumbria County Council.
The Government said in January that it would not call in the plans for an inquiry.
Readers of the News and Star reacted strongly to the story - many were angered by the intervention.