Warning as abnormal load hits West motorways

Motorists have been warned there could be more than six hours of potential motorway disruption due to an abnormal load being moved by police.

A convoy of large vehicles transporting huge industrial structures left Avonmouth Dock, near Bristol, at about 09:00 BST on Saturday.

Avon and Somerset Police said it expected it would take six-and-a-half hours to transport the load on the M5, M32 and M4 through Wiltshire to Didcot Power Station in Oxfordshire.

A spokesperson for the force said the convoy would cause "disruption" and apologised for the inconvenience caused, urging drivers to find alternative routes where possible.

They added that the load could not be moved at night to make sure it could be transported safely, and officers would find it more difficult to monitor traffic around them with blue flashing lights on at night.

The convoy planned to take the M5 Northbound from Avonmouth Docks to the Almondsbury Interchange.

It will then move onto the M4 Eastbound, then onto the M32 before leaving the motorway.

The group will then take the A4174 towards Warmley, before exiting onto the A420 through Wick to Cold Ashton, then taking the A46 north to M4 Junction 18.

At this point the abnormal load will be handed over to Wiltshire Police at Leigh Delamare services for the rest of the journey to Didcot Power Station.

A police spokesperson said motorways were being used for sections of the journey as the weight of the load could damage bridges and the surface of smaller roads.

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