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Mel Doel remembers the trial of the men who killed Welsh taxi driver David Wilkie on November 30th 1984 at the height of the miners strike.

It was the early hours of the morning when two striking miners hurled a concrete block over a road bridge as the 35 year old was taking a miner to work at Merthyr Vale Colliery in South Wales.

His death shocked the coalfields and the country and 21 year olds Dean Hancock and Russell Shankland were soon arrested and charged with murder.

The death devastated morale, damaged wider support for the miners’ cause and is seen as a major turning point in how the dispute was perceived across the country.
Here Mel remembers The David Wilkie Murder Trial 40 years on with some key figures from the period including former South Wales Chief Constable David East, Labour leader of the day (and Welsh MP) Neil Kinnock, former NUM official Kim Howells, ex ´óÏó´«Ã½ Labour relations correspondent Nick Jones and miner's wife Eunice Tovey.

With dramatizations from the trial which took place at Cardiff Crown Court in May 1985, Mel recalls the impact of the case and how the local community rallied to have the convictions reduced to manslaughter on appeal.

Presenter: Mel Doel

Produced by Ashley Byrne

An MIM Production for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Wales