When the end came, it was swift. The chimneys of Kearsley Power Station fell like skittles when Environment Under Secretary David Trippier set off the explosive charges in September 1988.

The Bolton News: Demolition of Kearsley Power Station chimneys, 1988

Around 1,000 people gathered to watch the giants, which each stood 325 feet tall and weighed 2,750 tons, fall.

The six chimneys which had taken nine months to build disappeared from the skyline in seconds.