A fire ravaged former Whitley Bay church was reduced to rubble four years after being badly damaged by a blaze.
Trinity United Reform Church, on Esplanade Place was badly damaged after a fire in May 2017.
Some weeks after the blaze, a demolition team arrived in the area and fences were erected around the site.
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Signs were put up warning people that demolition work would take place, however the building still remained standing for four years.
After a second fire, last June, ward councillor John O’Shea called for it to be flattened, warning that it could result in deaths if the structure was allowed to stay put.
Since then North Tyneside Council attempted legal action against the owner but this was appealed.
Proposals to demolish the church and build 28 flats on the site were thrown out in July 2020 after the applicant refused to pay tens of thousands of pounds in Section 106 contributions required by the council.
Now, the wreckers have moved in and razed the dilapidated structure to the ground.
Speaking to ChronicleLive Coun O’Shea welcomed the demolition.
He said: “They seem to be making good progress getting rid of it – four years after it became derelict.
“Hopefully the site will be cleared quickly and it will be developed. A housing development would be appropriate for that area.
“I would be very surprised if housing wasn’t developed on that site.”
The church building can trace its history back more than 120 years.
North Shields architect Henry Gibson drew up the plans for a church hall and church on the site.
Sir George Barclay Bruce laid the memorial stone for the hall in July 1895.
The hall was opened for public worship in November of that year having cost £1,600 to build.
At the time it was called Whitley Presbyterian Church and had 55 members and 21 adherents.
Work started on the church building itself in April 1900 with it opening to worshippers later that year, and by the 1930s its congregation had reached its peak at some 1,900 members.
In 1975 it joined with Park Avenue Congregational Church and was renamed Trinity United Reformed Church.
