LARGE loads will blight the region's road users less frequently thanks to funding announced yesterday.

An £8.5m Government award will allow two freight-bearing vessels to be constructed, as part of a wider blueprint to boost the country's ailing waterways.

In the North-East, the new craft, the Multi-Purpose Pontoon (MPP) and the Inland Navigator (IN), will be able to navigate as far as Ryton on the River Tyne.

It will avoid the need for heavy freight-bearing vessels to unload at Wallsend, causing knock-on traffic problems in areas of Newcastle and Gateshead.

Shipping minister David Jamieson said as part of the new policy abnormal heavy loads (AHLs), including petrochemical equipment and electricity generator parts, will now be carried on water where practical.

Mr Jamieson said: "I'm delighted to announce a practical measure that will lead to a real reduction in the mileage AHLs travel on our roads. It will mean fewer hold-ups for drivers when these loads are involved."

Mr Jamieson said as part of the proposals, titled Waterways for Tomorrow, the Government aims to encourage a transfer of freight from roads to water-borne transport wherever practical, economic and environmentally-desirable.

The larger of the vessels, the MPP, to be owned and operated by Robert Wynns and Sons Ltd, will be capable of operating at sea and on larger inland waterways.

It will have a load carrying capacity of up to 1,200 tonnes on three separate 400-tonne loads. It should be completed by 2004.

The smaller of the pair, the IN, will be a converted dry cargo vessel, able to travel within the MPP carrying single-piece loads of up to 300 tonnes.

It should be ready for use within the next few months.