Delivery of 450-tonne transformer from Heysham Port to Carlisle cancelled at last minute

Delays and restrictions on the M6 and surrounding roads were due to be in force on Saturday through Lancashire and Cumbria due to the wide load movement.

But National Highways has now announced that the delivery has been postponed until further notice.

The 450-tonne transformer is more than six metres wide and will straddle two lanes of the M6.

It was due to be taken from the port at Heysham to a National Grid site at Longtown north of Carlisle.

The operation was set to begin at 9am today - Saturday August 3 - in Heysham and will last around 12 hours.

The load more than six metres wide and weighing 450 tonnes, straddling two lanes of the carriageway, -was due to travel north up the M6 from junction 34 near Lancaster all the way through Cumbria.

Once in Cumbria, the vehicle was set to park on a closed lane of the northbound exit slip road at junction 39 for a planned break before resuming its journey to its final destination.

The transformer is helping the transition to greener energy by supporting wind power generation.

A spokesman for the National Highways Agency said: “It was indeed cancelled very late in the day. It had been hoped it might have been moved on Sunday but in the end it was postponed with a new date to be confirmed.”