This film is part of Free

Tidy Is Safe

A neat coalition between the Keep Britain Tidy Group and the National Coal Board aims to inspire colliery cleanliness.

Documentary 1975 14 mins

Overview

"What we throw away just doesn't go away" - the Keep Britain Tidy Group and the National Coal Board join forces and set up twin competitions for Tidiest Colliery Village and Tidiest Colliery Surface. Their aim is to encourage a sense of pride amid colliery communities in their villages and pits, as well as stoking their competitive spirit with the prospect of cash prizes and a plaque.

While the stark images of rubbish-clogged streets could be seen to engage with associations of coal mining as a dirty business, the film appears to extend well beyond the NCB's usual remit and so is something of a curio among their prodigious output.