There has been a transmitter at Emley Moor since the early days of television, providing Independent Television broadcasts to the Yorkshire region. In 1964 it was decided to replace the original 1956 lattice tower (443 ft), with a much taller (1,266ft) and more powerfull structure conprising of a tubular mast supported by guyed cables.
The recurring problem of the formation of ice on the mast and its supporting cables, plus the added complication of severe winds all added to the mast's demise on that fateful day on the 19th March 1969, when the mast could take no more and collapsed to the ground.
"The crash of the falling structure could be heard from miles around. Amazingly no one was killed or seriously injured in the accident." The Huddersfield Examiner
