RESIDENTS have been warned they could hear an explosion tomorrow when part of the main building at the former Didcot A power station is demolished.

The building is being blown up between 9am and noon.

A section of the A4130 will be closed for up to two hours as a safety measure.

Three of the old coal-fired station’s six cooling towers were brought down in July last year and power station owner RWE Generation UK said the three that remain and the chimney will be demolished in the spring and summer next year.

Demolition work at Didcot A started two years ago and specialist contractor Coleman & Co is half-way through the project.

RWE spokeswoman Kelly Brown said: “The north side of the main building, the tank and bunker bay will be brought down by explosives in the morning.

“The exclusion zone for demolition is within the power station boundary fence, but to ensure safety a small section of the A4130 will be closed for up to two hours and diversions will be in place throughout the road closure.

“The structure is made mostly of steel and is more than half the size of the cooling towers.

“The explosion and collapse might be heard off site and any noise will be over in under a minute.

“The structure will be washed down before the demolition to minimise the dust, and road sweepers and road cleaners will be available if needed.”

Another explosion is planned later in the year to demolish the rest of the main building.

Steve Boughton, of RWE, said: “Coleman & Co has worked on these demolition plans for five months to minimise disruption.”

The entire demolition of the site is expected to be completed by the end of September next year.

After 42 years of helping to power the nation, Didcot A was shut in 2013 after a European Union directive to cut carbon emissions.