YEAR after year and decade after decade, the steelmen of Ebbw Vale grafted at the vast works dominating their town.

The steel industry provided their living and fed their children for almost two centuries, so the loss of the works was bitterly felt when it closed last July.

Burly steelmen shed tears of sadness when the final day arrived and the works fell silent for the last time, leaving 800 men out of a job.

Days later, more than 1,000 former steelworkers joined a march through the town to mark the poignant occasion, watched by hundreds of residents.

Now many have found other employment - but they still have mixed emotions as they see the new plans for the site take shape.

They hope the new masterplan with opportunities for around 1,500 jobs, which was accepted by Blaenau Gwent council this week, will regenerate the entire area.

But these hopes are also tinged with a sadness that the works will finally be gone.

Dai Davies, who worked at Ebbw Vale for 26 years and was secretary of the works council for the last three, said he wished the demolition had already been completed.

"I looked down the other day to where the galvanising line used to be and where demolition is taking place.

"I just wish that it would all happen now. It is very sad to see - the works was a huge part of the community for such a long time."

But Mr Davies, who is 43 and now works in community training projects, said he hoped the new masterplan could be "a springboard to the future" and that it should be done as quickly as possible.

"It really needs to be carried out at a rate of knots," he said.

"The focal part of the project is the learning campus and I think we need to consult more with the youth of the area. They are the future for this area.

"There is such a need for regeneration here. The wage structure is so low. Whereas the steelworks was paying from £21,000 to £23,000, most jobs around here now are around £14,000."

Mr Davies added the principles of the masterplan were right and that it would benefit the whole of the county borough, not just Ebbw Vale.

Another former steelworker, Phillip Hooper, pictured, now works part-time in social care for Blaenau Gwent council.

The 54-year-old spent 24 years on the production line at Ebbw Vale, and told the Argus he welcomed the news of the ambitious masterplan.

"Anything that will clean up the site and make it look a little better is to be welcomed," he said.

"It should also bring some work into the area."