MILLIONS of pounds of damage has been caused to a historic colliery after floodwater smashed through the roof of a culvert.

The heavy rainfall brought by last month's Storm Dennis caused flooding throughout Gwent and saw the River Ebbw swelling and bulging.

And the Crumlin Navigation Colliery, which sits in the heart of the Valleys, saw a part of its culvert roof destroyed.

“We are absolutely devastated that this has happened,” said Vera Jenkins, chairwoman of Crumlin Navigation Community Trust, which manages the site on behalf of the South Wales Building Preservation Trust.

“It will cost a couple of million pounds to repair and we just don’t know what to do.”

South Wales Argus:

(Picture: Vera Jenkins)

A culvert is a tunnel diverting water under or away from a road, railway tracks or a structure.

Speaking to the Argus in November, she set out the trust’s plans to regenerate the colliery - which was integral in Wales’ coal-mining economy - and make it a carbon-neutral location for business, events and tourism.

You can read more about that here.

There are also plans to place a hydro-electric station on the River Ebbw.

But now the scheme faces an uncertain future.

“It has set us back years,” Mrs Jenkins, the former mayor of Caerphilly County Borough Council said. “It is so frustrating and quite distressing.

“We have been working so hard – we are talking about regenerating the area.”

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Mrs Jenkins discovered the “huge hole” on Saturday, February 22.

Volunteers from trust - which is supported by a separate group called Friends of the Navigation – regularly give up their weekends to help tidy and clear up the site, which has suffered from decades of neglect.

South Wales Argus:

(Four of the hardy volunteers who dub themselves 'the shovellors'. From L-R in front: Vera Jenkins and Marie Davidson. Behind, L-R: Bob Jenkins and Bill Davidson)

“We were driving onto the site, doing work as we always do and we just saw a big black hole," said Mrs Jenkins.

“The problem we have got is we don’t know how we are going to repair it.

“We have just got to gather people to see who will help.”

If you can or want to help in anyway, you can contact them via their website.