The National Grid says it hopes to keep disruption to a minimum as it moves a huge transformer from Dover to Sellindge.

The heavy load will take to the road at approximately 9pm on Sunday, January 7 and is expect to arrive at Sellindge substation by 7am the following day.

Travelling at around 12 miles an hour, the transformer will be carried on a special transporter measuring 87 metres long and 5.8 metres wide, and is so big it needs two trucks - one at the back and one at the front - to propel it.

After leaving the Port of Dover at Union Street it will travel along the A20 to the Alkham Valley Road junction (A260 – Canterbury Road), then continue along the A259 (Churchill Avenue) to access the M20 at junction 13.

It will exit the M20 at junction 9 and re-join it to travel back to junction 10 - due to road weight restrictions - then exit the motorway and travel along the A20 and Church Lane to the Sellindge electricity converter station.

The National Grid says the equipment will be installed at the substation to help it continue to deliver electricity to homes and businesses across the South East and beyond.

The company says most of its substations were built between the 1950s and 1970s and equipment such as transformers need to be replaced and maintained to keep them working efficiently; while new transformers are also installed to connect new sources of generation or when demand for electricity is growing.

Phil Billington, National Grid project engineer said: "Our network operates smoothly, safely and efficiently over 99.9999% of the time – a statistic we’re very proud of. Millions of people rely on us to supply their electricity without interruption, day in, day out and so it’s important that we keep our substations and the equipment in them working efficiently."

If people have questions about the delivery, they can ring the National Grid hotline on 0800 731 1231 between 9am and 5.30pm or email info@communityrelations.co.uk