by Martin Jefferies

The QE2 bridge will be closed for six hours this evening while a giant generator is driven from one side of the River Thames to the other.

The generator is being moved from npower's Littlebrook Power Station, near Dartford, to Tilbury Docks.

It will then be shipped to South Africa, where it will be installed in the Duvha Power Station in Mpumalanga.

The generator will leave Littlebrook Power Station at around 10pm, joining the M25 at junction 1A before travelling northbound across the QE2 bridge and leaving the motorway at junction 30. It will then travel along the A13 towards Tilbury.

Due to its size and weight, the generator will be split into two loads. These will travel together and be escorted by police vehicles at all times.