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1,000-Tonne Nuclear Submarine Passes Through Residential Streets In Barrow

People say you can’t even step out your front door these days.

That’s certainly the case if a 1,000-tonne piece of nuclear submarine happens to be rolling down your street.

But that is exactly what happened in Barrow in Cumbria on Sunday, when a submarine unit weighing more than 1,000 tonnes was transported to an indoor shipping complex.

The unit belonging to defence company BAE Systems is the heaviest ever moved and was taken to Devonshire Dock Hall in Barrow-in-Furness from the New Assembly Shop in Bridge Road, Barrow.

The unit will form part of an Astute class nuclear-powered submarine. Two such submarines - HMS Astute and HMS Ambush - are already in service.

Four more submarines are being constructed at Barrow: Audacious, Anson, Agamemnon and an as-yet-unnamed submarine.

BAE Systems was awarded the contract for the fifth submarine last month, taking the total value for work on the vessel to £1.3 billion.

Manufacture of the submarine began in 2010 and HMS Anson is on schedule to begin sea trials in 2020.

(Pictures: PA)