Iconic Goodyear chimney is felled

Going, going, gone – it was the end of an era for the Goodyear chimney as the Wolverhampton landmark was razed to the ground after 81 years.

More than 1,000 people including former workers turned out for the historic occasion, with many shedding a tear.

Today it emerged that the 150ft stack will not be completely lost forever as people may be able to buy the familiar blue and yellow bricks as souvenirs. The possible sell-off is part of a fund-raising venture for Macmillan Nurses, who care for cancer patients.

The famous chimney was ceremoniously toppled in a controlled explosion at the Stafford Road site yesterday.

Spectators watched as 142,662 bricks and some eight decades years of history came crashing to the ground. Oxley Primary pupil Alisia Tonkin, aged 10, and Goodyear worker Des Raj, 53, were given the privilege of pressing the firing button after winning a guess-the-number-of-bricks competition and a raffle, repectively.

Company spokesman James Bailey said bosses were looking into the possibility of turning the rubble into cash for the charity.

"The chimney was a much-loved landmark," he said. "Auctioning of a number of the bricks could popular"