Wellington house at risk of collapse reduced to a pile of rubble in minutes

A Wellington house at risk of collapse in strong winds has been reduced to a pile of rubble in mere minutes.

The derelict property at 82 Wallace St in the suburb of Mount Cook was demolished today.

Last week the Wellington City Council cordoned off a walkway neighbouring the house following an engineering report suggesting it could topple in strong winds or an earthquake.

It took one digger less than half an hour to demolish the house.

Old wooden doors with stained-glass panels were saved from the house before the digger got to work, but a bathtub and bookshelf stacked with books weren't so lucky.

NZME understands apartments or townhouses are going to be built on the now vacant site.

Demolition underway of the derelict house at 82 Wallace St. It took an excavator a mere 30 minutes to reduce it to a pile of rubble. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The earthquake-damaged house before the demolition. Photo / Google