The Grimsby Telegraph could play a key role in helping former fishermen win their claims for job-loss compensation.

Evidence was discovered in a two-day search of the paper’s archive by officials from the Department of Trade and Industry.The evidence showed which trawlers sailed to Icelandic fishing grounds, and could help prove that the claims of many men which have been turned down were genuine.

Many men who regularly sailed to Icelandic grounds have had their claims turned down due to a lack of evidence about where vessels fished.

However, in the glory days of the fishing industry, the Telegraph regularly carried reports of trawler movements, telling what vessels had returned to port and what grounds they had fished.

These reports could now provide indisputable proof that many vessels did fish in Icelandic waters until they were barred following the Cod War settlement of 1976.

It is hoped that the new evidence will lead to a more speedy settlement of claims.

The move has been welcomed by fishermen’s campaigner Dolly Hardie, who said: “This is a big step forward. If through the columns of the Grimsby Telegraph we can prove that vessels regularly sailed to the Icelandic fishing grounds there is no further argument.

“There have been problems with this because of lost records so far as Grimsby was concerned, but we are now hopeful that the matter can at last be resolved quickly.”

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