Heavy job losses as furnace at UK’s largest steelworks shuts down

It’s the end of an era for two major industries in the UK today. The country’s last coal-fired power station will shut down tonight, at Ratcliffe-on-Soar.

And in Port Talbot, the last blast furnace is being switched off at one of the largest steelworks in the world.

Its owners Tata Steel have acknowledged it is a “difficult day” for steel workers in South Wales, with almost two thousand jobs going at the plant.