THE Gills may not be on their way to Wembley this year, but Wembley is certainly on its way to Kent.

Strood-based haulage firm R Swain & Sons is helping to raise the roof on the new Wembley Stadium by transporting its massive roof frames when they arrive from Europe.

Working in partnership with Dutch company Hollandia, Swain’s has been able to draw on Medway’s maritime location to import the steel sections from Rotterdam.

The company’s river wharf in Rochester offered the ideal solution to the difficulties of transporting the huge structures completely by road.

Mark Lay of Swain’s subsidiary Transit Medway said: "Transporting the sections by road from Rotterdam would have been very difficult because of their size. Instead, Hollandia opted to use Transit Medway’s Rochester wharf and bring the sections in by barge."

After a 27-hour sea journey the sections are hoisted onto low-loader lorries by a crane brought in specifically for the project. The sections measure 18 metres long by seven metres high by seven metres wide and weigh about 25 tonnes each – the same dimensions as a detached house.

The movement and installation of the stadium’s sliding roof supports has been one of the most complex operations in the construction of Wembley and the Medway company is proud to say it is playing a part in the construction of a national landmark.

The steel sections are key because they support not only the roof, but also tie in the already-famous illuminated arch.

Bob Swain, group managing director, said: "Over the years Swain’s have developed a lot of expertise in transporting pieces for the construction projects sector. We were involved in the Heathrow Terminal 5 project, the Swiss-Re building in London (The Gherkin), moving sections for the Copenhagen Metro and work for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.

"In some ways it takes us back to where the company began. In the 1920s we transported the bricks for the construction of Battersea Power Station.

"Wembley is an extremely complex project and it is very gratifying to be able to use our wharf to provide a solution to a tricky problem for Hollandia.

"While we haven’t been able to completely eliminate the road leg, we have been able to significantly reduce the disruption that transporting these sections on the roads could cause."