TILBURY Power Station reached another milestone in the demolition of the site removing unloaders weighing 850 tonnes.

It said goodbye to two vast coal unloaders, that sat on the jetty for more than 25 years.

Better known as the ‘Kones’, after the manufacturer’s name, the two coal unloaders were used to unload coal from the ships that transported coal to the station.

Weighing 850 tonnes, each Kone was 36 metres tall, 46 metres long and 12 metres wide - unloading coal at a rate of up to 1500 tonnes per hour.

They will be heading to the Netherlands and sold for scrap.

Following the station’s closure in 2013, demolition contractors Brown and Mason began work in January 2016 and said they are progressing well, with larger explosive demolition planned for later this year.

Robert McLauchlan Tilbury Power Station demolition project manager said, ”The removal of the Kones completes the demolition works in the land area sold to the Port of Tilbury London Limited. The handover of the remaining land to the new owners will take place at the end of March.”

Later this year will see the demolition of the turbine house, stacks and some of the unit precipitators.

In its pomp, the station generated enough electricity to meet the electrical requirements of 1.4 million people.