Coal tycoon in court over alleged assault as mine disaster fallout deepens

Mine boss accused of assault as outrage grows over failed restoration and vanished millions

A Welsh coal magnate is set to appear in court over allegations he assaulted a solicitor, as public anger intensifies over the derelict state of the Ffos-y-Fran opencast mine and the millions diverted away from its restoration.

David Lewis, 68, of Hillcrest, Sluvad, Pontypool, is alleged to have caused actual bodily harm to 75-year-old solicitor Robert Davies, chairman of the Robert Davies Partnership LLP, during an incident outside Davies’ office in Newport.

Though Lewis was initially offered a conditional caution, prosecutors now claim he failed to comply with its terms. He is due to appear before Newport Magistrates Court on 14 July.

Lewis is best known as the owner of Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd, the company behind Ffos-y-Fran, the largest opencast coal mine in Wales. The mine, which opened with promises of full land restoration, has instead become a symbol of environmental neglect, corporate impunity, and public betrayal.

A 2023 report by the Senedd’s Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee condemned the handling of the mine’s closure and restoration as an act of “epic mismanagement.” Despite over £91 million being earmarked in company accounts for restoring the land, the site remains a vast, unsafe crater. Local residents say no meaningful work has begun.

The company’s licence to extract coal expired in September 2022, but mining reportedly continued for months illegally, with the site finally shuttered in November 2023.

Since 2017, nearly £50 million in dividends and royalties have reportedly been paid out of the business. Now, the same company claims it cannot afford to honour its restoration commitment.

Campaigners Alyson and Chris Austin, who live near the mine, say the situation has left their community broken and exposed. “This whole process has been awful,” they said. “The company and the council only tell us anything when they’re absolutely forced to. We’re just ignored.”

They painted a bleak picture of what remains. “We’re looking at a steep, unstable valley with a lake at the bottom—easily accessible and a real danger to children. We’ve been hung out to dry by the council, the Welsh Government, and government agencies at all levels.”

“The restoration was meant to be the one good thing we got out of 17 years of misery. Instead, we’re worse off than we were before.”

The committee has called on the Welsh Government to impose stricter enforcement against operators who breach planning controls, including companies that continue to mine after their licences expire.

As Lewis prepares to face criminal proceedings, public scrutiny is likely to intensify. The unfinished and hazardous mine site at Ffos-y-Fran stands as a monument to unfulfilled promises, as campaigners demand accountability not only for the violence alleged in court but for the environmental and financial damage that has followed in the mine’s wake.