Seven-year-old Luke Taylor set off the blast that brought down Felsted's twin sugar silos at high noon last Sunday.

The Felsted County Primary school pupil was chosen by Berisford Developments after winning a painting contest which secured a £1,000 first prize towards classroom equipment.

Cool Hand Luke pressed the button to trigger off a series of explosives, drilled into the sides and supporting columns of the 55-metre silos, which each weighed 1,200 tonnes.

Felsted Sugar Beet Works was built in 1926 -- with the silos being erected in 1951 -- and operated until bulk sugar production stopped in 1981. The site continued to be used for packaging and storage until 1993.

Last year, Berisford won planning permission, on appeal, to redevelop the former sugar factory -- with plans to build 650 homes around a village green, in a landscaped area including a lake, ponds and woodland. The site will also include shops, a pub-restaurant, a community sports hall and a school.

But there will be no room for the colony of bats which set up home in the empty silos. After consultations with wildlife experts, the decision was taken to demolish the silos before the bats returned to nest.

Roads were sealed off and an exclusion zone set up as people gathered in country lanes around the area to see the reinforced concrete structures obey the laws of gravity. School pupils were challenged to paint a picture of the type of houses they wanted see built on the site and, because of the high standard of entry, all schools will receive £250 each.

Above: Luke Taylor pictured moments before blasting the silos. Below: The silos tumble

Pictures: MARK LEES

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.