CELEBRITY steeplejack Fred Dibnah was kept waiting when a mill chimney made from tough Accrington bricks refused to fall.

Fred, who has knocked down well over 90 chimneys in his time, had his work cut out when it came to the demolition of "Platts" chimney in Accrington yesterday.

But he was given a helping hand by nine-year-old Jack Abbott, from Accrington, who was given the honour of lighting the bonfire which sends the tower toppling as a special birthday treat.

The strength of the famous red bricks was proved when the 230 foot high octagonal tower simply refused to budge until Fred and his team gave it an extra push.

Although the event was not given any advance publicity crowds lined the streets around the former Globe Works site to watch the smokestack topple.

The famous landmark finally fell at around 12.45pm.

And as soon as the dust had settled, scores of onlookers rushed to the scene to pick up souvenir bricks from the 86-year-old chimney.

The destruction of the tower will feature in a BBC documentary about the famous steeplejack.

The 58-year-old Bolton steeplejack spent a week at the site preparing for demolition day.

"I believe in doing it very gradually so it's feeling the pain all the time," said Fred.

He uses the traditional method of removing half of the base of the chimney and propping it up with pieces of telegraph poles.

Put simply - "Lighting the fire burns out the wood leaving no support and then it falls over," Fred explained.

On this occasion, though, the chimney needed an extra push and Fred and his team had to remove more bricks from the base before it fell.

Fred has mixed emotions about his job as executioner.

"It's exciting but sad at the same time," he said. "They're nearly all gone and I'd sooner be mending it than knocking it down.

"Time was when you travelled along you could tell where you were from the different chimneys.

"In a bit everywhere will look the same.

"Some were quite ornate and this one would have had a fancy top at one time.

"You don't get better bricks than this and they would all have been made within hundreds of yards of here."

His wife, Sue, and sons Jack, 8, and Roger, 5, were at the site to watch the chimney fall.

Frank Westell, 56, of Alma Place, Baxenden, penned a lament on the loss of the landmark after spotting Fred at the site a couple of weeks ago:

"For many a year you stood erect and high,

A local landmark in the sky,

Over the years you've served this town

Keeping unemployment down,

But alas fate has struck with a cruel hand,

Closing your factories that once were grand,

Now you lie crumpled on the floor,

Rest in peace for evermore."

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