Iconic Fiddlers Ferry towers demolished in Cheshire as heavy fog obscures view

The four cooling towers at Fiddlers Ferry in Cheshire have been demolished.Found between Widnes and Warrington on the River Mersey, the power station was decommissioned in March 2020 after nearly half a century of use. The demolition of the cooling towers was scheduled for today.There was no set time given for the demolition, with a window of between 8am and 12pm on Sunday given. As seen on the official Facebook livestream of the event, which attracted over 1,500 viewers, the cooling towers were demolished at approximately 9.35am this morning, removing a famous part of the Mersey skyline.But due to heavy fog, many watching on the ground had no clear view of the collapse and were left disappointed.

On lookers were left disappointed as heavy fog obscured the view. Credit: Liverpool Echo

At its peak, the coal-fired power station was capable of producing enough electricity to power around two million homes. Its eight 114-metre cooling towers and a 200m metre chimney made it a landmark, visible from the Pennines.

An attempt was made to make the cooling towers listed buildings, as examples of Britain's industrial heritage. The application was rejected by Historic England.

Keith Johnson - who moved from the Isle of Man to work on the electrical installation of the side between 1967-1973 - was among the spectators this who turned out this morning. He said "it was the end of an era", adding "I saw the birth of them."

The site - which is owned by Peel NRE - has been identified in the draft Warrington Local Plan for the development of around 250-acres of employment use.