With temperatures a couple of degrees below zero, the news that Tata Steel had decided to shut down its blast furnaces, with the loss of 2,800 jobs, brought an added note of bitterness to an already freezing cold Port Talbot.
Blue skies and a piercing winter sun did little to lift the sombre mood engulfing the town on Friday as it faced up to a bleak and uncertain future, one many fear will parallel the devastation wreaked on neighbouring south Wales communities by the coal pit closures of the 80s.
