Demolition work begins on Don Valley Stadium

Demolition work has begun at the stadium where athletics hero Jessica Ennis-Hill was discovered and trained for her Olympics triumph.

A piece of heavy machinery was seen tearing down fencing and advertising hoardings this morning around the running track at the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield.

Contractors in hard hats and high-visibility jackets were working in the stands at the venue, which was closed earlier this year as a council cost-cutting measure.

In addition, a large banner advertising the demolition firm carrying out the work was draped across the centre of the main grandstand.

The decision was taken to close the stadium as part of Sheffield City Council's attempts to save £50 million next year.

It was costing the council around £700,000 a year to run and needed major refurbishment, councillors argued.

Don Valley's fate was finally sealed in October, when the council turned down a last-minute appeal from a campaign group that collected nearly 6,000 signatures on a petition to save it.

Ennis-Hill was discovered when she attended an athletics event for children at the Don Valley when she was 10.

Since then, she used it as her base and cited the facility as one of the reasons why she had not been tempted away from her home city.