Cracks found on reactor at Hunterston B nuclear power station

A reactor at Hunterston B nuclear power station has been taken offline after cracks were found in its core.

EDF energy says the Ayshire nuclear plant still has a long term future and expects the reactor to return to service by the end of the year.

The cracks were not unexpected, the company said in a statement.

In a statement it said: "The inspections confirmed the expected presence of new keyway root cracks in the reactor core and also identified these happening at a slightly higher rate than modelled.

"EDF Energy has today decided that, while Hunterston B reactor 3 could return to operation from the current outage, it will remain offline while the company works with the regulator to ensure that the longer term safety case reflects the findings of the recent inspections and includes the results obtained from other analysis and modelling.”

Cracks were also found at the site in 2014.

Hunterston and Torness in East Lothian were among seven nuclear power stations which had come to the end of their lifespan but had their life extended in 2014 as part of a deal between Doosan Babcock and French company EDF.