A MEDAL given to an Abercarn man for his role in rescuing 82 miners was sold for £6,900 today.

William Walters was awarded the Albert Medal of the Second Class by Queen Victoria in recognition of his bravery in rescuing fellow-miners trapped underground.

The medal was auctioned at Fellows and Sons auctioneers’ sale of Coins and Medals in Birmingham and was expected to sell for between £5000 - £8000.

The Abercarn colliery disaster, when 262 people were killed, remains one of the worst mining disasters in British history. It happened on the morning of September 11, 1878, when a massive explosion ripped through the mine at Abercarn.

The explosion set alight coal and timber and soon the whole mine was engulfed in flames, trapping many of the 325 men and boys working there.

Two rescue teams rushed in, but with the fear of an imminent second explosion looming, there was nothing more than could be done and they were ordered back to the surface.

William Walters was part of the nine-man team of mineworkers who volunteered to descend a two mile shaft. The story was published on August 20, 1879, in the Guardian: "The men named, without hesitation descended the pit, and although they discovered that fires were raging in the mine, and that the chances of another explosion were considerable, they remained their human work of rescue, not re-ascending the shaft until they had satisfied themselves that no one was left alive below."

There were 82 men and boys crowded at the bottom of the shaft, struggling with each other to get up, many severely burned. Mr Walters and his team rescued all 82.

A spokeswoman for Fellows and Sons said she was unable to give any information about who bought the medal.