STUNNING aerial shots of Gwent’s coal mining sites have been captured by a filmmaker paying tribute to his family’s mining heritage.

Jeff Jones, 45, travelled to several mining sites with his wife Annmarie, whose uncle Ronald Hunt and great-grandfather Sam Withers both worked underground.

Using a drone the Trecenydd man captured footage of the Big Pit in Blaenavon, Penallta Colliery near Hengoed and Six Bells Colliery in Abertillery.

Mr Jones, of Caerphilly, said: “Everyone who lives in this area was brought up with history and has family who previously worked in the mines.

“There was also a guy who lived in my house before me who was involved in the Aberfan disaster where children and adults were killed when a colliery spoil tip collapsed.

“I planted a tree at the bottom of my garden to remember him by.”

Mr Jones captured the footage with a TBS discovery drone and spent about an hour filming at each site.

The video was also dedicated to the “memory of the miners who lost their lives for us.”

He added: “Come the summer I plan to do a lot more of these videos focusing on mines and castles.”