Ref. 71739-3ONE of Swindon's most distinctive landmarks is no more.

Princess Margaret Hospital's foundation stone was laid in May 1957 by the royal whose name it bore.

Having served thousands of Swindonians, it closed its doors at 7am on December 3, 2002 when the Great Western Hospital opened at Commonhead.

In February demolition work started, and the building was gutted, leaving just the shell.

Then a month ago the walls came tumbling down as the final demolition work started.

Now the hospital, which stood on the top of the hill in Okus and could clearly be seen from the M4 in its heyday, has finally been flattened, as the picture taken this week shows.

In its place will be built a 500-home estate ranging from one-bedroom apartments to five-bedroom homes and a 70-bed nursing home. After a competition the development was named Angel Ridge.