After 69 years on top of the east tower, the concrete crown was removed in just 20 minutes.

Bystanders watched as the 50-metre-high structure was severed with an industrial saw and lowered by a crane just before 1200 GMT on Saturday.

The crown of the west tower will be removed on Monday.

The new arch is seen as a symbolic replacement

The work was supposed to be done on Friday, but technical hitches and strong winds meant it had to be delayed.

The flagpoles will be kept in storage until the new £757m stadium is completed and they will go on display in a museum in the new grounds.

A Wembley spokesman said: "They used two cranes and a cherry picker to support the crown and another harness crane to hold the flagpole in place while they cut through it with an industrial saw.

"There were a fair number of fans and bystanders watching.

"Some of them asked why the towers had to be taken down and we explained that the new stadium was too big to keep them."

Demolition of the historic stadium began on 9 September and is due to finish next April.

The new stadium will have a giant arch as a symbolic replacement for the twin towers.