EMOTIONS ran high at the White Horse Country Club following the demolition of the Westbury chimney this morning.

Hundreds of people gathered at ground level near to the foot of the chimney which was brought down at 7am this morning.

Former employees and their families made the trip from far and wide to see the iconic structure fall with a few unable to hold back tears.

Gary Pennell’s dad, David, worked at the site for ten years and was at the demolition along with his daughter Lucy.

“I've got very strong emotions, it's a massive change,” he said.

“I think my dad would be gutted it's coming down.

“I moved down here because of the chimney, my whole family moved down so my dad could work here.

“Coming back home along the M4, that was your pinpoint and that was your icon to see where you are.

“It came down quite gracefully and a lot smoother than I thought.”

Gary Bradbeer worked at the cement works from 1989 until 2009 and was there with his 12-year-old daughter, Ellena.

“It's almost like a reunion and there's a lot of people who haven't seen each other for a while,” he said.

“The emotions are a little bit high but there was a good turnout and I knew there was going to be a lot of people.

“I think there’s a lot of extreme emotion purely for the fact that place is just being ripped apart.

“I suppose it was inevitable that it was going to come down.”

Steve Shaw was at the event with his wife Louise and son Elliot after travelling from Bradford on Avon.

“We’ve seen it smoking over the years and it’s weird to think that it’s not there anymore,” he said.

“I think its progress and it marks the start of regeneration at the site.”

Former worker John Wheeler first worked at the site when it opened in 1962 and said: “The cement works have done a lot for Westbury, there was a lot of complaints about the dust but it did a lot for Westbury.”