At Saltley Coke Depot, Birmingham, police struggle to hold back pickets who had gathered to force the closure of the Depot, which had been continuing to process coal since the beginning of the miners strike in January 1972. By 10th February miners and many other workers made up a force of approximately 15,000 pickets, and the police had no option but to close the gates, a key moment during the first strike by mineworkers in the UK since the General Strike of 1926.