Drones delivering equipment to offshore wind farms

Giant drones are being used to deliver safety equipment to some of the world's largest offshore wind farms.

Energy company Ørsted has deployed the drones to transport safety evacuation gear to more than 400 turbines off the coast of Hornsey, East Yorkshire, and off Walney Island, in the Irish Sea.

The drones take boxes weighing 11 stone (70kg) from a ship to the top of the turbines, which are about 330ft (about 100m) high.

It is thought to be the biggest civilian offshore delivery scheme that has been carried out, and includes more than 550 flights.

The drones are taking equipment to the top of the turbines off Hornsea and Walney Island

Nina Le, who is heading the project, said Ørsted would usually use two cranes and three people to deliver one box a day, with the turbine shutting down for six hours.

Using the aircraft, which travel up to 75 miles (about 120km) out to sea, the turbines do not have to be shut down and 30 boxes a day can be delivered.

Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.

Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices