THERE was a loud bang, then a rumble, and the towering Jacob’s Well office block in Bradford city centre was no more.

The exact date for the “blow down” of the 1970s Bradford Council up to nine-storey building had been kept under wraps for safety and security reasons.

ACTION REPLAY: Jacob's Well demolition

But this morning road closures were in place alongside a 250-metre exclusion zone and flats and offices were evacuated to ensure the high-rise office block could come down without a hitch.

Demolition bosses at the Council had earlier revealed that around 500 explosive charges were to be used to demolish the building on Nelson Street which has been empty since it was vacated in the summer of 2016.

It has been pulled down to make way for a planned £20 million public sector hub on the key site.

Pre-weakening work had taken place earlier and this morning the explosive charges were detonated to bring the central core down first and the two wings in on top of it.

Despite the secrecy surrounding the exact date and time of the demolition, onlookers had gathered to witness the spectacle of the landmark building being razed to the ground.

There will be plenty of work ahead to clear the site, given the debris pile was expected to be around two storeys high.

Phil Harrison, senior demolition officer at the Council’s demolition and works unit, earlier told the Telegraph & Argus that measures had been put in place to protect the nearby Jacob’s Well pub while the demolition was carried out including vibration surveys and barriers in place in the event of any large pieces of debris rolling down the pile after the building came down.

The exclusion zone and road closures are expected to be lifted later today as the first stage of the clear-up operation is completed.

McLaren Developments has been granted the option to develop the site. The scheme will comprise initially 100,000 sq ft of Grade A office space and is part of the Government’s One Public Estate initiative.