Hundreds of Britons gather to watch the controlled explosion and demolition of the 170-year-old steelworks

A piece of Britain's industrial heritage has today been "razed to the ground", as many citizens gathered to closely watch the controlled explosion and demolition of the steel factory that was built 170 years ago.

The Redcat Blast Furnace was destroyed in a controlled explosion - causing a huge cloud of smoke to rise, the Telegraph reports.

This factory was the last of 100 others that were built along the River Tees in the late 1800s, which once had the slogan "we build the world".

The Dorman Long Company used its steel to build the Sydney Harbor Bridge in 1932, the Tyne in 1928 as well as Lambeth in London and Chien Tang in China.

After the local authorities announced that they will demolish this old facility to make way for the construction of a new modern factory, many citizens gathered to closely follow this process.

Below we bring you the video that shows the moment when the giant object "disappears" for a few seconds, as if it had never existed and a cloud of smoke rises. /Telegraph/