Gallery: Giant wind turbines transported through Essex

Ten giant wind turbines are being transported from Grimsby docks to their new home in Bradwell on Sea in Essex.

Essex Police says it's their most complex operation for moving abnormal loads through the county.

Sections of the first tower were carried through the county on March 5 and March 6 and further parts will be transported later.

The turbines are escorted by police as soon as they leave the A12 at Sandon to Bradwell on Sea where the windfarm is being built.

The towers are in three sections with the biggest load being 34 metres long and weighing 96,000 kgs. The individual blades weigh 43,000 kgs and the total length of the lorry and load is 44 metres.

Essex Police is charging the contractor around £3,000 a day for the escort which involves three police motorcycles and one car.

Adam Pipe, manager of the Essex Police casualty reduction unit, said: "A great deal of planning and preparation has gone into this operation to ensure that the disruption to other road users is kept to a minimum.

"The loads will travel at off peak times and in daylight for safety reasons and we have plans in place to keep traffic moving on other roads when the loads slow down to negotiate trickier turns and junctions.

"We will run the convoys as and when required by the contractors and will arrange two convoys per day wherever possible.

"This is definitely the biggest and most complex series of abnormal loads we have had to deal with in Essex but there is no impact on operational policing and no additional costs because they are being met by standard private hire charges paid by the contractors.”