Crowds gathered to capture the moment on camera, mobile phone and camcorder as one of the most hated symbols of British military occupation was finally removed in the South Armagh village of Crossmaglen on Tuesday.

The British Army spy post which had towered above the barracks in Crossmaglen for a decade-and-a-half was an ugly, oppressive and intrusive eyesore, long resesented by residents of the strongly republican district.

The demilitarization of South Armagh and other republican heartlands has been a key demand made by Sinn F