ANOTHER piece of Newport's industrial history ended yesterday when blast furnace number three at Llanwern steelworks was demolished.

It marked the end of an era at the site when the third phase of demolition at the massive plant saw a controlled explosion bring down part of the works.

Steelmaking ended at Llanwern in 2002 after Corus announced almost 1,500 job losses there. Previous demolition works have included the taking down of the sinter plant.

Around 600 acres of the steelworks site have been sold off to developers St Modwen, and the site is intended to play a key part in the regeneration of the east side of Newport.

The Birmingham-based company is set to invest more than £200 million to turn the 'heavy end' of the Llanwern site into a 1,700-home housing estate alongside businesses, creating an estimated 7,000 jobs.