On her visit to Cleator Moor this week Cumbria's Lord Lieutenant visited one of Sellafield's centres on Crossfield. 

Sellafield's Centre of Excellence was unveiled in the past year on Leconfield Industrial Estate. 

The aim is to relocate engineers and specialists from Sellafield into the new facility as a way to invest into the community. 

The centre is rather unique in that it is home to lots of interesting technological desgins, including SPOT The Dog, a robotic dog like design. 

Whitehaven News: Mrs Hensman speaks with Sellafield staff and Gerard Richardson Mrs Hensman speaks with Sellafield staff and Gerard Richardson (Image: Newsquest)

Gerard Richardson MBE said: "What an incredible facility Sellafield have set up on Cleator Moor.

"I love the idea that they are experimenting with new ways of bringing projects and ideas to life away from the confines of the nuclear licensed site and to be honest, who wouldn’t want to work there with the tech at hand.

"SPOT is a well known star these days but they also have a wide array of drones that they using all over the site these days. It’s an engineers dream."

READ MORE: Sellafield Story at the Beacon, Whitehaven given a refresh

Mrs Hensman had a very tight schedule which included a hastily rescheduled visit by the Princess Royal to the Lakes Distillery, but she had heard so much about Sellafield's Centre of Engineering Excellence that she was determined to drop in for what ended up being a flying visit.

She was particularly keen to hear about the centres work with young people and apprentices and also the outreach work they have been doing with schools but like everyone else, she ended up falling in love with SPOT the Robotic Dog.

Whitehaven News: SPOT the dog SPOT the dog (Image: Newsquest)

Mrs Hensman was accompanied on her visit by her husband Peter, her Deputy Lieutenant Gerard Richardson MBE and Joan Hully, Chair of Cleator Moor Town Council and during her visit, which was hosted by Claire O’Connor and  Kevin Rishworth, she was presented to David Jones from the operational technology group and Steven Williamson and Duncan Kirkbride from the Central Condition Monitoring Team.

READ MORE: Lord-lieutenant Claire Hensman visits Whitehaven for Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations