AN iconic building known to film and television audiences around the world is being reduced to a pile of rubble.
Contractors have finally started to demolish the former control room at Fawley power station, which is set to be replaced by a massive development costing at least £800m.
Dubbed The Flying Saucer because of its size and design, it has appeared in several movies and TV dramas.
Other structures on the site have already been demolished to make way for 1,500 homes, plus a raft of commercial and community facilities.
Now the control room is going the same way as the turbine hall and the power station's 650ft chimney.
Locals have taken to social media to mourn the loss of the building and other parts of the complex, which dominated the entrance to Southampton Water for 50 years.
READ MORE: Fawley Waterside awaiting final consent for £800m plan to transform power station site
A former employee posted: "Looks like my old office is gone, which is a shame as I think I left a packet of mints in one of my desk drawers.
"Wouldn't it be nice to have one last chance to sit in the canteen, have a sandwich and cup of tea, and watch the Red Funnel steam past?"
The site is owned by Fawley Waterside, which has often faced calls to preserve the control room and convert it into a cafe or restaurant.
Speaking last year a Fawley Waterside spokesperson described it as a "vast" structure that was made mainly of concrete.
READ MORE: Controlled explosion destroys 650ft chimney at Fawley power station
They added: "To repurpose it would be extremely costly. In addition to this, its architectural form did not sit well within the current proposed masterplan to redevelop the site.
"We spent many years considering how the building could be retained.
"But with no suitable and viable options we had to make the decision for it to be demolished as part of the wider demolition programme."
The landmark structure was used to represent the "World Control Centre" in the 1975 film Rollerball, starring James Caan.
Scenes for the sci-fi series Red Dwarf, the Channel 4 programme Spies, and the British medical comedy Green Wing were also filmed in the eye-catching building.
Parts of Solo: A Star Wars Story and the 2015 Tom Cruise movie Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation were shot on the power station site.
Built in the late 1960s, the oil-fired power station was commissioned in 1971 and closed 10-years-ago.
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