New £8m drain for west Cumbria

An £8m project to clean up the sea and beaches in west Cumbria is nearing completion.

A kilometer long pipe which was towed in sections across the sea from Norway has finally completed its journey and is buried off the coast of west Cumbria.

Engineers towed the pipe along the Cumbrian coast by boat from Workington and sank it into a specially prepared trench on the sea bed at Parton.

Workers spent weeks preparing the sea bed for the arrival of the pipe.

It will still be a few more weeks to permanently anchor the pipe, connect it to Whitehaven Waste Water Treatment Works and fit it with special diffusers. Then the area's old long sea outfall pipe can be decommissioned.

The pipe was built in sections by a specialist manufacturer in Norway. Because of a low railway bridge, it couldn't be brought to Parton by road. The scheme was paid for by revenue brought in from utility bills.