Sellafield milestone 'like scoring FA cup final goal'

Magnox Swarf Storage Silo Facility Credit: Sellafield Ltd

A 50-tonne piece of equipment, which will be used to clean up the single most hazardous building on Sellafield, has arrived on site.

The 'Transfer Tunnel' is part of a larger machine, which will retrieve highly radioactive waste from the ageing Magnox Swarf Storage Silo Facility.

Sellafield provided this video showing what the machine will look like in action. The yellow containers represent the individual silos which contain highly radioactive waste:

It has taken more than a decade to design and build the equipment:

The component being transported. Credit: ITV Border

The Transfer Tunnel was transported from Beckermet to Sellafield on Thursday afternoon.

The machine travelled at about 3mph and was operated by a driver walking behind.

Staff at Sellafield say getting the equipment on site is a major milestone. It is due to start retrieving waste towards the end of 2017:

Watch Katie Hunter's full report: