Steelworkers have drilled the final hole in the last remaining blast furnace in Port Talbot, bringing to an end the traditional method of steelmaking in south Wales. Tata Steel removed the last usable liquid iron from blast furnace 4 - which will eventually be replaced with electric arc furnaces - on Monday afternoon.

Traditional steelmaking has come to an end but Tata Steel bosses insist it is only a matter of time until a greener operation is underway. | ITV News Wales

The process of winding down operations at the final blast furnace has been underway for a number of days. Tata had warned residents they should expect 'whooshing' sounds and plumes of steam. Tata confirmed the last blast furnace at the site would be switched off, along with the remaining heavy-end operations on Monday, September 30.

The move away from making steel from scratch using iron ore and coal to recycling metal in a new £1.25bn electric arc furnace could lead to a "90% reduction in dust from the works' chimneys", Tata has claimed. But for Port Talbot, the prospect of cleaner air comes at a cost - with around 2000 jobs lost.

The UK's biggest steelworks has shut down production after more than 100 years, leading to thousands of job losses across South Wales. Blast Furnace 4 - the final furnace operating at Tata Steel's plant in Port Talbot - was fully closed down this afternoon, with the last steel expected to be made late on Monday evening.

The Welsh First Minister has defended the UK Government’s efforts in negotiating a better deal for workers at Tata Steel.

Today marks the end at one of the biggest steelworks in the world as the last blast furnace at Port Talbot in Wales shuts down, leaving it unable to make its own steel.

Tata announced on Friday, September 20 that the company had successfully commissioned India’s largest blast furnace at Kalinganagar in Odisha.

TATA Steel’s last blast furnace at Port Talbot will cease operations this afternoon, marking the end of more than 100 years of traditional steelmaking at the site.

UNIONS vowed to “never stop fighting” for Port Talbot jobs, as Tata Steel began shutting its final blast furnace today. In a devastating blow to communities in south Wales, nearly 2,000 jobs will be lost at the plant in the coming months, and thousands more in the wider community that relies on the steelworks.

The closure of the blast furnaces at Britain's biggest steelworks will lead to far more job losses than thought.