Great Yarmouth delay as wind hits sugar tower river trip
One of the largest loads seen on a Norfolk river for more than 25 years has been held up by high winds.
Sea-going tugs have brought large sugar evaporation towers weighing nearly 230 tonnes from France, but they are trapped at Great Yarmouth.
The towers are on their way to British Sugar at Cantley.
The strong winds are due to cease on Tuesday allowing passage of the huge pontoon carrying the towers to continue.
The River Yare between Great Yarmouth and Norwich was once crowded with vessels bringing cargoes from across the world to local factories and mills.
Shipments are now rare and usually destined for the riverside village of Cantley, east of Norwich, where the British Sugar plant processes beet from the eastern counties and sugar from the Caribbean and other parts of the world.
The river has ceased to be a major artery into Norwich where the port closed in the 1990s.
Timber, honey, cereals and spices used to be brought by sea-going vessels to factories and mills there.
Scrap metal, waste paper and other commodities went in the other direction.