After more than two decades looking down over the city centre, the end came in just two seconds.

With a clap of thunder and an almighty cloud of dust, the familiar concrete bulk of Provincial House was reduced to a 20,000-tone pile of rubble.

Hundreds of onlookers had clambered on to every available vantage point for the building's final curtain which came precisely on the last toll of City Hall's 9 o'clock chimes.

Five minutes earlier, as a warning siren wailed across the city, rows of expectant faces peered up from the lines of safety barriers and the roof of the neighbouring Hall Ings car park. With thirty seconds to go, a maroon was fired to signal the impending blast and a hush descended upon the city.

And then Provincial House went down with a deafening bang.

More than 1,500 detonating charges triggered the 90kg of explosives which had been packed into the building's major structural columns over the past two months.

Steve Foster, operations director for Controlled Demolition Group, explained that the blast actually involved three separate explosions - one in the centre of the building followed by two in the ends half a second later.

"To ensure the safe demolition in the limited space, the collapse mechanism brought down the middle section of the structure first so that the outside walls were pulled inwards on the building's own footprint."

And space was most definitely an issue.

The eight-storey office block stood 150 metres from City Hall and just 17 metres from its nearest neighbouring building. Windows near to the blast site had earlier been checked to ensure they would not be sucked out by the pressure of the explosion.

As the dust clouds from Bradford's first ever explosive demolition finally cleared, a gigantic mound of rubble and jagged concrete - around two storeys high - stood in the place of Provincial House.

Although two adjoining buildings suffered damage in the blast, a spokesman for Controlled Demolition Group described this as 'superficial' and added: "A certain amount of damage was expected because of the very tight area they were working in. Contingency plans were in place for this."

He said the firm would replace a window and repair damage caused to the back of the Age Concern shop in Sunbridge Road - the closest point to Provincial House.

There was also 'superficial' damage caused to part of the JMC building in Godwin Street where piles of rubble had slipped out of site area.

"There was also some rubble that went on the road but this will be cleared by tomorrow," said the spokesman.

"Everything went absolutely according to plan and everyone is over the moon because of the very tight nature of the project, both in terms of size and the timescale."

Around 90 per cent of the debris left on the site will be used in the foundations of the new leisure and terrace development which builders will begin work on early next year.

For most Bradfordians, the old Provincial House will not be missed.

Bradford nurse Jane Hardaker - who was chosen to press the plunger and trigger the blast - said: "I always thought it was a bit of an eyesore, particularly being opposite City Hall. I'm glad that its gone."

"It has been an emotional and very exciting experience and I can't wait to see the new development which will replace it."