THE LAST ten giant boilers from Berkeley Power Station started being removed from the site today.

The 310-tonne boilers, each measuring 21.3 metres by 5.3 metres, will be making their way to Sweden for recycling.

Since the nuclear plant stopped operations in 1989 the boilers, of which there were 15 in total, had been left on site.

The boilers will move under police escort between 10am and 1pm on Friday, February, 22, Monday, February 25, Thursday, February 28, Tuesday, March 12 and Friday, March 15.

Magnox said that the process would be exactly the same as when the first five boilers were removed last March.

The boilers will be driven by road through Berkeley town to Sharpness Docks on low-bed lorries, before being moved onto a barge headed to Avonmouth dockyard. They will then be shipped to metal recycling company Studsvik’s processing plant in Sweden.

A Magnox spokesman said: "This is another step in the decommissioning programme taking the site a step closer to care and maintenance.

"The first five boilers were moved last year and the project team would again appreciate your cooperation and patience during the removal and transportation through Berkeley of the final ten Berkley boilers."

The four-mile journey from Berkeley Nuclear Power Station to Sharpness Docks will cause some disruption on the roads, although the three-hour journeys are scheduled for daytime to minimise disturbance.

Parking restrictions will be in place throughout the duration of the movements, with no on-street parking through Berkeley.

The last boilers were successfully smelted down and over 90 per cent of the metal was recycled.