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

There will around 2,000 direct job losses at the steelworks as a result of the move, plus a huge number of indirect losses in businesses and contractors linked to the site

The UK’s largest steelworks will halt production today after over a century, resulting in thousands of job losses across South Wales. Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plant will shut down Blast Furnace 4, the last furnace in operation, around 5pm, with the final steel produced 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.

For Jon, there is a strange sense of déjà vu, having documented the fictional demise of a steelworks in the town as a production photographer for the Michael Sheen drama The Way last year.