Woman wins chance to blow up building where her father was killed

A woman whose father died in a factory accident has been given an unusual outlet for her grief after winning the opportunity to blow up the building. Sarah Griffiths, 41, pushed the button that triggered a series of explosions to demolish the Campbell's Soup Tower in King's Lynn, Norfolk, yesterday morning.



Griffiths, from Clenchwarton near King's Lynn, lost her father, Mick Locke, in 1995. He died from severe scalding from a blast of steam while working in the former Campbell's factory. She said: "The tower is a constant reminder that I have been robbed of my dad.

"I'm a bit choked up about it because it's a big thing for me to do and I feel very pleased to be given the chance of closure." She won the rare privilege in a competition in a local newspaper.


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She added: "I feel honoured that I have been chosen against so many other people – I hope they understand my need to do this." The tower had been a familiar part of the town's skyline for 52 years. The series of controlled explosions brought it to the ground in a matter of seconds. Hundreds of people lined roads around the site to watch the landmark fall.