Traffic came to a standstill as an 800-tonne section of submarine was moved along a street in a Cumbrian town.

The Astute class vessel Audacious is being built at the BAE Systems shipyard in Barrow.

The section, which will house the vessel's command deck, was moved along Bridge Road from the firm's assembly shop to the Devonshire dock hall.

It was the biggest submarine part move in the town since the 1990s.

The move took just over 20 minutes.

Andy Ogden, boat manager for Audacious, said: "It is the largest submarine structure we have moved since the Trident programme in the 90s.

"It's a massive amount of weight involved, 20 metres in length. It's a huge piece of kit."

A specialist transporter, Sarens of Middlesbrough, was brought in to carry out the operation.

BAE Systems is constructing four of the Astute class submarines at its Barrow yard.

(Source: BBC News, 28 July 2010)