Motorists are being urged to plan ahead due to a wide load movement on the M6.

Welsh Power is moving a 'huge' electricity transformer from Heysham Port in Lancashire to Longtown, north of Carlisle in Cumbria, on Saturday.

The operation is set to start at 9am and is expected to take about 12 hours.

The load, more than six metres wide and weighing 450 tonnes, will travel north up the M6 from junction 34 near Lancaster.

It will straddle two lanes of the carriageway.

Once in Cumbria, the vehicle will park on a closed lane of the northbound exit slip road at junction 39 for a planned break before resuming its journey.

It will then move into Scotland up the A74(M) where it will turn and head south – re-joining the M6.

The load will exit the southbound M6 motorway at junction 45, reversing up the entry slip road before heading to Longtown.

Ultimately, the transformer will move on to Gretna, where Welsh Power is constructing a specialist site to support the grid.

The load will be moving at around 12mph along the M6, and drivers are being asked to 'exercise extra patience and care' when overtaking in lane three of the motorway.

Drivers may be stopped temporarily at locations around junction 45 when the load is leaving the motorway.

Drivers are advised to check traffic conditions before setting out on journeys.

Live traffic information is always available at trafficengland.com or from National Highways’ 24/7 customer contact centre at 0300 123 5000.

Updates will also be posted to @HighwaysNWest – National Highways’ regional X (formerly known as Twitter) feed.