The giant electric transformer was being transported as a wide load measuring 5.5 yards wide and 109 yards long from the Mammoet depot in Hixon near Stafford.

With the help of a police escort it followed a route via Weston Road, Beaconside, to the A34 north past Stone on its way to Ellesmere Port, in Cheshire.

Staffordshire Police's Road Policing Unit tweeted: "It is big and slow and difficult to manoeuvre, so please be patient if you get caught up in it today."

A similar wide load went through the area last month. Last August motorists were amazed to see the top deck of a Boeing 747 carried by lorry through the Black Country and Staffordshire to Manchester where it will become a visitor attraction.