The short and difficult life of B of the Bang

It was British sprinter Linford Christie who coined the phrase "B of the Bang", that inspired artist Thomas Heatherwick. The sculpture was commissioned as a monument to the 2002 Commonwealth games Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images

An early computer-generated image of B of the Bang. The sculpture was Britain's tallest at the moment of its construction: standing higher and at a greater angle than the Leaning Tower of Pisa Photograph: Public Domain

An engineer working on B of the Bang at the AK Heavy Engineering factory in Sheffield in 2004. The project quickly fell behind schedule and costs began to spiral Photograph: Ian Hodgson/Reuters

A crane hoists part of B of the Bang into position outside the City of Manchester Stadium. The various sections of the sculpture were driven to the site under police escort Photograph: Damien Maguire/Manchester Evening News Syndication

Scaffolding supports the half-completed B of the Bang. The sculpture eventually came in two years behind schedule and at a cost of £1.42m - twice as much as originally planned Photograph: Paul Burrows/Manchester Evening News Syndication

Only days before it was due to be unveiled, B of the Bang was surveyed after the tip of one if its spikes fell to the ground Photograph: Howard Walker/Manchester Evening News Syndication

Thomas Heatherwick stands in front of the completed B of the Bang on 9 December 2004, the night the floodlights were turned on for the first time. His studio would eventually pay Manchester city council £1.7m in an out-of-court settlement over the subsequent safety problems Photograph: Manchester Evening News

The installation came to be known locally as KerPlunk after its resemblance to the children's game. In May 2006, nine more spikes were removed for safety tests amid fears that the sculpture might pose a risk to passersby Photograph: Christopher Thomond/Guardian

Manchester city council's executive committee decided today that the sculpture should be dismantled, citing "technical difficulties" Photograph: Paul Barker/AFP/Getty Images