"They're on the move," he said. "No doubt. From time to time inspectors will come and have a look and say all is fine but everyone around here knows they are on the move, on the slide."
It isn't always easy to spot the tips in this craggy landscape decades after most of the mines closed. Often they are cloaked in scrub and trees but Richards, 80, said that everyone who lived nearby knew where they were and worried about them. "They need to get on and sort them out once and for all," said Richards. "It's only a matter of time before something terrible happens."
The issue of what to do about Wales's 2,500 disused coal tips is back on the political agenda after the Labour-led Welsh government published maps pinpointing 350 close to homes and communities that it fears could put people at risk if a landslip was triggered.
Of those more hazardous ones, 79 are in Rhondda Cynon Taf, 59 in Merthyr Tydfil and 51 in Caerphilly, all areas of south Wales where the impact of an industry that fired the industrial revolution are still clearly seen and felt.
This story is from the December 26, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the December 26, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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