Sixty firefighters fought an intense blaze at the Wheatsheaf lighthouse on November 5, 1970.
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00:00It was the Sundland Lighthouse which was never illuminated until the night had burned down.
00:06On bonfire night in 1970, the weight shift building was well alight.
00:12The fire was so intense that windows cracked in a nearby hotel and 60 firefighters were
00:19called in.
00:20Meanwhile, crowds watched in Newcastle Road and Roker Avenue as the 100 foot high flames
00:28spread across rooftops.
00:31It took hours to bring under control, but eventually public works officials decided
00:37the shell should be demolished.
00:39To get a better view, they lit up the building, the first time it had been illuminated, despite
00:46plans for that to happen 100 years earlier.
00:50Thanks to Sundland Antiquarian Society for another great piece of Wearside history.