Dr Bethan Lloyd Jones, a senior lecturer at NEWI's Wrexham business school has recently been awarded a PhD.

The chartered accountant from Gellifor, near Ruthin, wanted to study for a PhD which combined her love of history and business and which would also have a strong local focus.

After thinking about the history of Wrexham, its industrial background and the importance of coal mining in the region, she chose to look at the economic development of the Denbighshire coalfields.

She said, "When I thought of Wrexham and its history I thought of the Gresford disaster and the coal industry and this inspired me to investi gate what had been written about the Denbighshire coalfield.

"When I discovered that no-one had ever attempted to write a comprehensive history of the Denbighshire coalfield that was exactly what I decided to do."

Bethan's thesis looked specifically at the Denbighshire coalfield which was concentrated around Wrexham and Ruabon, from 1850-1914.

She chose this period because the modern development of the coalfield did not start until the late 1840s with the advent of the railways. Her studies explore all aspects of the coalfield from why it developed to the people involved: owners, landowners, employees and customers, and how it performed.

Having completed her PhD Bethan now hopes to share her research through local lectures and by writing a book based on her PhD thesis.