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Hours after fire ravaged an eyesore former Wigan hotel, its remains are fast disappearing from the skyline.

The inferno that tore through The Rockleigh on Bolton Road, Ashton-in-Makerfield on the evening of Tuesday January 23 left the structure dangerously unstable.

And so the decision was taken for an emergency demolition operation to be launched immediately.

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Heavy plant making light work of the former Rockleigh Hotel

Diggers were soon clawing down the damaged roof and red brick remains of one of the town’s ugliest sights.

This work had been scheduled to take place anyway after the council granted developers permission to build 26 affordable homes there but few were expecting the work to have been carried out so swiftly.

The brownfield site off Bolton Road will comprise entirely of one-bedroom cottage flats.

All the homes will be available for affordable rent and managed by Jigsaw Homes.

This means they will be available at a price of 80 per cent of the current market rate.

Wrecking crew moves in to raze eyesore former Wigan hotel after arson blaze

The proposal was to build 13 two-storey blocks with 19 parking spaces to accommodate the tenants.