Some Ceredigion miners from the period

Producers claim there was "constant bickering" after the Italians arrived at Frongoch near Aberystwyth in 1901.

TV producer Dafydd Llyr James said there was evidence from police and newspaper reports from the time that problems between the workers existed.

However, this is disputed by one mining historian, who called it a myth.

Mr James, who is behind the planned drama for production company Boomerang, said one police report showed that more officers were sent to the mining area following a large-scale dispute between miners.

There were even reports of an explosion near where the Italians were billeted, he claimed.

The Frongoch mine was run by a Belgian company

Mr James, who is also an historian, said: "I'm not saying all the Italians and Welsh didn't get on, in fact, when they first arrived there was a big party and songs from both cultures were sang.

"But over time the constant bickering, misunderstandings due to the language difficulties and cultural differences led to the mine closing."

But local historian Simon Hughes claimed there was little or no animosity between the Welsh and Italian miners, and locals even went out on strike with their foreign colleagues over pay.

Mr Hughes, who has been researching the history of lead mines in the region for 40 years, said: "The relationship between the locals and the Italians was very good.

"I don't think there was anything serious or organised in the area and what did happen, which was minor, has been embellished.

"I have a diary of a Welsh miner from the time and there's no evidence of animosity towards the Italians.

"They were not taking the jobs of local miners because the Italians were doing the jobs the locals didn't want to do."

A script for the drama has been commissioned and has been funded by Ceredigion Council's Spirit of the Miners project.