A LANDMARK Glasgow tower block has been demolished to make way for new housing.

Hundreds of local people turned out to witness the Toryglen high-rise crumble in a controlled explosion.

Number 24 Crossbank Road, built in 1968, was once home to Simple Minds star Jim Kerr and local MSP Janis Hughes.

The building recently featured in Sony Bravia television adverts, in which saw 70,000 litres of paint sprayed up the high-rise.

Although most residents were happy with Glasgow Housing Association's June 2004 decision to rejuvenate the area, there was an air of sadness as the dust cloud billowed over the rubble pile.

Ann Foy lived in the area until she was a teenager and travelled from Edinburgh to watch the demolition.

The 39-year-old said: "I moved away when I was 19. Although I haven't lived here for 20 years I still have lots of family in the area and I wanted to say a final goodbye.

"I think most people know that the best thing is for the flats to come down but there was a real sense of pride after the Sony advert so it's sad." WATCH IT! Exclusive video footage of the demolition

A total of 132 households in the 23-storey block were razed to the ground in less than 10 seconds.

Trisha Dooley has lived in the area for 27 years and is chairperson of the local residents' association.

The mum-of-five said: "It's quite sad to see the flat go down but it's the start of a regeneration here.

"The people here have mixed feelings. While it is good that we're getting new housing, it's odd to think of all the people who stayed up there who are gone now."

Around 240 properties near an exclusion zone around the flats were evacuated with residents being taken to a nearby community centre.

Roads around the area were closed and over 100 stewards and police officers made sure that the area was clear of people.

William Sinclair, boss of demolition company Safedem, said: "It has taken 20 weeks to prepare for today with engineers assessing the site to ensure it came down exactly how and where we wanted it to."

The rubble from the flats will be compressed and used as foundation for the new housing.