East Lothian Council has announced the date for the controlled demolition of the Cockenzie Power Station chimney stacks.

The date has been confirmed as 26 September following close consultation between ScottishPower, East Lothian Council and Police Scotland.

The twin chimney stacks are both 149 metres tall, and were constructed in time for the coal station opening in 1967.

The demolition will be overseen by ScottishPower's main contractor, Brown and Mason, who have undertaken similar projects in recent years at Inverkip Power Station and Methil Power Station.

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An exclusion zone will be necessary for the demolition. Full details will be published in the near future.

Safety restrictions mean that viewing areas in the immediate vicinity of the power station, such as the Greenhills, will be limited.

The power station has generated over 150 Terawatt Hours (Twh) of electricity in its lifetime, enough to power the average annual electricity needs of over 1 million homes every year during its 45 years of operation.

George Camps, ScottishPower Project Manager, said: "A lot of detailed planning is required to carry out a major demolition on this scale. This involves close co-operation with both East Lothian Council and Police Scotland, in order to ensure that we can carry out the work safely.

"We will also keep the local community groups and businesses fully informed as we are able to release further details of the event."

(LM/MH)