One of the ugliest buildings in Britain is finally being wiped off the map.

Following a 5-4-3-2-1 countdown, a bulldozer tore into the side of Teville Gate shopping precinct, a Seventies eyesore which had become the haunt of drug addicts, muggers, arsonists and prostitutes.

Worthing had waited years for this moment and onlookers cheered and clapped as bricks, concrete and timber tumbled to the ground.

As dust spiralled into the air, many were thinking ahead to what would rise from the rubble.

Councillors seemed confident a 25m swimming pool, multi-screen cinema, retail units, restaurants, housing and, possibly, an indoor bowling alley would be developed on the site, regarded as the gateway to Worthing town centre.

That was certainly the hope of Worthing College sixth-form student Tim Deacon, 16, of Orchard Avenue, Lancing, who said there was nothing for young people to do in the area.

He was backed by fellow student Sam Phillips, 17, of Greenways Crescent, Shoreham, who said: "I want an ice rink, a bowling alley - something to do in the evening."

Dave Hunt, of Beaumont Road, Worthing, said: "It is a historic day for Worthing. I am glad to see the back of it. It was a nightmare."

Before demolition could start, workmen wearing thick gloves spent weeks clearing thousands of used hypodermic syringes from the derelict shops.

They also had to employ a security guard to prevent addicts scaling the fence and entering the units, which had been cordoned off while experts stripped out low-grade asbestos.

Adrian Maelzer, environmental division director of 777 Demolition, said: "It was horrendous in there and people just wanted it gone."

A camera crew from Channel 4, producing a programme called Demolition to be screened in the autumn, filmed the demise of Teville Gate.

The precinct was voted the second worst eyesore in Sussex by readers of The Argus, while Radio Five Live listeners named it Britain's shabbiest street.

Councillor Keith Mercer, leader of Worthing Borough Council, said: "It has been my ambition to see this happen for many years before I became a politician.

"One of the major eyesores in the UK is at last meeting its demise."

Town centre manager Sharon Clarke said: "I am delighted to see the demolition work starting.

"There is still a way to go before Worthing gets the quality development which will be a welcoming gateway to the town but this is a huge step in the right direction."

Coun Paul High, executive member for leisure, has been spearheading negotiations with developers Hanson Properties to establish a swimming pool and cinema on the site, which is just yards from Worthing's main railway station.

He said: "This is a great day for Worthing. We are finally getting rid of the place. I am absolutely delighted."

Coun High hoped Teville Gate could be turned into a leisure complex by 2007 but, first, the last two remaining shops in the precinct, Teville Gate Pharmacy and Comet electrical store, had to find new premises.

Comet was on a short-term lease and there were plans to move the chemist to a new unit opposite Teville Gate on the former site of the Rivoli pub, which has been demolished to make way for shops and flats.

In the meantime, the flattened section of Teville Gate would probably be used as a surface car park, hosting a weekly market.

The neighbouring multi-storey car park, overlooking Broadwater Bridge, would only be demolished at the last moment as it was still being used by rail commuters.

Teville Gate was built in 1970 for £650,000 at a time when planners and architects favoured a style based around rectangles, flat roofs, threadbare architectural detail and red brick.

They believed people arriving by train would be vastly impressed by this ultra-modern, minimalist precinct, which mixed retail with housing on the first floor.

It was even compared to Brighton's world-famous Lanes.

But what they created was a soulless, almost antiseptic, uninspiring concrete jungle virtually bereft of greenery or character.

Worthing was not alone in making such mistakes. Across Britain, towns and cities have been ravaged by similar schemes.

In the Seventies and Eighties, most of the units at Teville Gate were occupied.

Many people will have learned to drive at the driving school, popped into the newsagents, called Newsgap, for a paper and a packet of cigarettes, or visited Bloomers bakery.

Sussex Model Centre was based at the precinct from 1972 before moving to the junction of Broadwater Road and Queen Street.

There was a restaurant called The Platter at the Railway Approach end, and the Millstone cafe, next to the newsagents.

Roy Scott, who founded Sussex Model Centre, said: "By the early Nineties, although our own business continued to grow, Teville Gate was very much in decline.

"The first ten years had been quite a happy period of trading for most occupants but the growth of superstores in the Worthing area was affecting smaller businesses.

"The next decade saw such traders disappearing, leaving just a nucleus of more specialist businesses such as our own.

"Then, with the growing decline in law and order, resulting in increased vandalism, Teville Gate became the centre for a lot of antisocial behaviour.

"We and other traders found the problems of guarding our premises against the breakage of windows, forced entry, and all other forms of attack, ever more worrying.

"My sons were at times being called out several times a week by the alarm system being activated, which was not a happy situation after a hard day's work."