Swadlincote is sinking

"The ground may be subsiding under part of the town, but the citizens of Swadlincote have unshaken faith in the future," says the rather Soviet commentary on this newsreel from 1954 (Click on the picture to view it on the British Pathe site.)

Unfortunately, that faith may not have been well founded. A report from BBC East Midlands this week showed that subsidence caused by the coal industry remains a huge problem in Swadlincote.

Swadlincote was the birthplace of the British heavyweight Jack Bodell - follow that link for a favourite anecdote.