Submarine reactor test site at Dounreay to be demolished

Vulcan is next to, but operated separately from, the Dounreay nuclear power complex

A facility used for testing nuclear submarine reactors in Scotland is to be demolished by the 2030s.

The Vulcan Naval Reactor Test Establishment (NRTE) was built in 1957 at Dounreay near Thurso.

The site is next to, but operated separately from, the civilian experimental nuclear power complex at Dounreay.

The civilian nuclear power plant is already in the process of being demolished.

Vulcan NRTE has two reactors. The first was operational from 1965 to 1987 and the second was shut down in 2015.

• Q&A: What and where is Vulcan?

The facility was used for testing new designs of nuclear submarine pressurised water reactors (PWR).

In 2011, the UK government said new technology meant testing would no longer need to be done at Vulcan.

Ministry of Defence (MoD) said options for decommissioning Vulcan were ongoing.

The MoD said: "The test reactor at Vulcan shut down for the last time in 2015 and work is ongoing to demolish the whole site in a safe, secure and environmentally compliant way by the 2030s."