The explosion which felled the 180ft Sunderland power station chimney while thousands watched

Thousands of people armed with cameras watched as the chimney at Sunderland power station bit the dust.

It happened in 1979 and was hailed by the Sunderland Echo at the time as the town’s ‘most carefully planned heap of rubble’.

Two weeks of planning - gone in five seconds

Two weeks of careful preparation had gone into the demolition by explosives expert Mike Perkins.

But it took just five seconds to reduce the disused power station cooling tower, one of Sunderland’s best known landmarks at the time, to a pile of rubble.

A few broken windows

The 180 foot tower was wired to collapse on itself, so the only casualties were a few broken windows in the nearby PTE depot.

And, as this had been expected, the operation in an intensely built up and commercial area was hailed as a complete success.

Were you there?

Mike was earmarked to carry out more demolition at the power station.

He was also tasked with blowing up a 240ft brick chimney and a 140ft water tower.

Tell us if you were there to watch the spectacle. Email [email protected]