Murco Milford Haven Refinery chimneys demolished this morning

The two industrial chimneys at the former refinery were destroyed at 9am today, Sunday, July 21.

Former staff and contractors who had worked at the site gathered alongside neighbours to watch as the two loud booms sounded and controlled explosions brought the columns of metal and concrete crashing down.

One former worker described the day as a heart wrenching occasion.

Another, Mike James, 64, of Pembroke Dock, agreed.

"It is a very sad day. It is the best job I ever had and I enjoyed every second I worked here," he said.

Mike, a former maintenance technician, added the team at the refinery were very close.

"It was a family, not a place of work really. Everybody knew everybody and no-one spoke down to anyone else.

"There was no such thing as us and them," he said.

Before: the former Murco site as it looked before the demolition work. PICTURE: Martin Cavaney.

There was also a large informal crowd gathered at Herbrandston to watch the two chimneys come down.

Experts WRD Decommissioning were contracted in to carry out the work.

After: the site as it looks now the two chimneys have been demolished. PICTURE: Martin Cavaney.

The Murco refinery, which employed around 600 people at one time, closed in November 2014.

It was purchased and turned into a storage facility in 2015, safeguarding some jobs, and is now operated by Puma Energy.

Parts of the refinery are in the process of being shipped to Pakistan to be rebuilt.

These huge pieces of equipment are sometimes moved over the Cleddau Bridge to Pembroke Dock’s Port of Pembroke along the A477 for shipping to Pakistan.