'Going...going...gone': The moment chimney at historic former mill was blown up and brought down

This is the moment the chimney of a former mill in Oldham was brought down in a matter of seconds as hundreds watched on.

A controlled explosion was carried out as the still-standing chimney stack of Hartford Mill in the Werneth area of the town was demolished to allow longstanding regeneration plans for the area to continue.

The chimney at the Grade II listed local landmark had survived two world wars and pre-dated the Titanic. However Oldham Councill approved its flattening in 2019, and the green light was given by the Secretary of State

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Demolition work began in March 2020, but had to be halted due to the pandemic. When they were completed only the chimney remained.

Specialist machinery which could have done the job was unavailable which is why the decision was taken by the owners to blow it up, Oldham Council said with some residents evacuated whilst it was carried out.

This morning hundreds of people gathered at the nearest safe distance to see a piece of the area's skyline vanish for area.

At around 10:40am a loud bang boomed across the area and it just took 6 seconds from the explosion for the stack to collapse to the ground.

Kashif Ashraf, Oldham President for Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, described it 'history in the making' and said: "The heavy rain did not stop the amazing public atmosphere."

Rochdale councillor Phil Burke said: "Another piece of Chadderton History gone today with the demolition of Hartford Mill. Very good turnout especially in the rain." John Postlethwaite, also known as The