ONE of the largest demolition companies in Europe will resume the task of clearing the wreckage at Didcot Power Station next month after work stopped following the death of four men in the collapse.

Six months after firm Coleman and Company had its contract terminated by site owners RWE ‘in the best interest of all parties’, Brown and Mason has been awarded the contract.

For 50 years the firm has worked on the removal of asbestos and demolished more than 40 power stations.

Kelly Nye, a spokeswoman for RWE, said: “Brown and Mason have previously worked on site during the recovery operation last year and have more than 50 years of industrial demolition experience.”

Coleman and Company had been preparing the boiler house for demolition when it collapsed in February 2016, killing Michael Collings, 53, Chris Huxtable, 34, Ken Cresswell, 57 and John Shaw 61.

In May, Brown and Mason took the reins in the recovery of the bodies of the four men trapped in the wreckage and now will resume the demolition and clearance of the site in mid-May.

Ms Nye added: “The initial focus will be on clearing the remaining debris pile in addition to other demolition works at site.

“The demolition of chimney and north cooling towers will be part of a separate contract and is not planned until summer next year.”

Former mayor of Didcot Des Healy, who worked at the power station from 1972 until his retirement in 1999, said Brown and Mason was a ‘sensible choice.’

He added: “They are going to be bringing back the same people who know the site and have been here before.

“This consistent approach seems to be sensible and lets hope we can get it cleared as per the time table for next year.

An investigation into the cause of the collapse is ongoing, but Thames Valley Police said it could not confirm how much longer investigators would remain on site.