Removing Fireplace

[me]

Ello all.

First post so bear with me.

I have just knocked down the mantel pieces and harth of the fires in our new house .... its left the exposed brickwork and the heatproof back panel that makes up the fireplace (were the stuff burns).

My question is this :

Can the fireplace bit be easily remove (its not level with any of the other brickwork) so that I can get in the space, plaster it up and use the space as a shelf or similar ?

Cheers in advance.

NC

[BrianSmedley121]

Think these are often in 2 bits - upper & lower, shaped concrete: behind them it's just filled with rubble. The 'throat' above is a cement slope over the top of the fireback. Normally v. easy to remove - break them out.