IN a cloud of smoke and with a thunderous blast three historic towers were demolished today after dominating the skyline of a nearby town for more than four decades.

The three southern towers of Didcot A power station were brought down by more than 180kg of explosives in a matter of seconds at 5am this morning.

The towers are a familiar landmark for train passengers bettwen Swindon and London and hundreds of locals defied the guidance issued by power company RWE npower to stay away from the site and watch the demolition via a webcam livestream.

See the towers tumble in the video below.