"Some were wounded and they drowned.

which has pushed prices down. British manufacturers also face higher costs, particularly on electricity, than elsewhere.After the government took control of the plant, China's embassy in the UK said it was "closely following" developments.

It said: "It is an objective fact that British steel companies have generally encountered difficulties in recent years."There are 1,160 businesses in the UK steel industry, directly supporting 40,000 other firms,Tata Steel at Port Talbot in Wales was once the UK's largest virgin steel producer but it turned off its blast furnace in September 2024, saying it was losing £1.7m a day.

An agreement with the UK government was reached which saw it commit £500m to help the company move to greener forms of steelmaking.Other steelmakers in the UK include Liberty Steel, Celsa, Marcegaglia and Outokumpu.

Liberty Steel also has a plant in Scunthorpe which is facing closure. More than 120 jobs are at risk, with bosses blaming

In 2023 the UK steel industry contributed £2.3 billion to the UK economy - equivalent to 0.1% of total UK economic output and 1.0% of manufacturing output."It’s just awful and the smell is disgusting," she added.

Others were keen to highlight that Port Talbot’s story is not just one of steel.Iona Walker-Hunt, 17, hopes that the next time the media come to the town "it’s for a film festival – not steel".

"A lot of people think Port Talbot is just the steelworkers, but it’s not. There’s so much more,” said Ms Walker-Hunt, whose dad Nigel is an ex-steelworker who started his own business after being made redundant in 2015."Obviously it’s sad for everyone losing their job, but I also think it’s an opportunity to start something new and start a better name for the town," she said.