Dismantling starts on final Gateshead gas holder

The last of three gas holders which were once targeted in an IRA bomb attack is being dismantled.

Two of the three structures - a local landmark at Dunston in Gateshead - have already been taken down.

The £1.3m project to remove the holders, which Northern Gas Network said were "no longer in use and costly to maintain", began in July 2017.

In June 1993 Sean McNulty attempted to blow up the holders using Semtex plastic explosive.

Will the UK's gas holders be missed?

One device caused a blaze, and dozens of nearby properties were evacuated, but no-one was injured.

McNulty was jailed the following year after being found guilty of conspiring to cause explosions with intent to endanger life.

Holders were built to store gas made from coal at local gasworks.

However, they were phased out nationally following the discovery of North Sea gas as new pipelines were laid to supply properties.