The first of Glasgow's Red Road flats are to be demolished at the weekend, bringing down an iconic feature of the city's skyline.

Explosives have been laid in the blocks at 153-213 Petershill Drive in preparation for the "blowdown" operation on Sunday.

Bus routes linking the city to Maryhill, Robroyston, Balornock and Auchinairn are being diverted throughout Sunday to avoid the demolition zone.

Originally built in the 1960s, the flats were once the tallest structures in Europe and have been home to thousands of families. Latterly they were used to house asylum seekers.

In 2006 the area provided the backdrop to Andrea Arnold's dark revenge thriller Red Road.

The last days of the Red Road flats have been documented by artists who were given exclusive access to the abandoned bingo hall beneath the towers for a commemorative exhibition.

More About Red Road Flats

• Memory project to turn Red Road flats into giant 'ghetto blaster'
• Iconic Red Road tower block demolished in controlled explosion
• No inquiry into deaths of Russian family who jumped from 15th storey flat
• City's skyline redrawn as iconic Red Road flats brought down in demolition
• MacAskill hopes new scheme will prevent further ‘Red Road’ tragedies
• Funeral for asylum seekers who plunged from Glasgow tower block
• Protest march over Glasgow tower block deaths

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