Double 'blowdown' for Glasgow tower blocks

Two tower blocks in the Gorbals area of Glasgow have been demolished in controlled explosions.

The 24-storey Sandiefield Road towers were completed in 1971. They stood 69m tall and contained almost 400 flats.

They are being cleared to make way for a new health centre, social housing and office accommodation.

The work is part of a £100m regeneration project by New Gorbals Housing Association aimed at transforming the Hutchesontown area.

Chairman, Raymond Shannon, who lived in Sandiefield for 15 years until 2007, said: "Every single household in the flats were given the opportunity to be rehoused in a new or modernised home in the Gorbals and I'm pleased to say that over 70% decided to take up that offer.

"The explosive demolition of these blocks will transform Crown Street and at last clear the way for the completion of the £100m regeneration of Hutchesontown which we started in 1990."