A HUGE crane is being used to take apart a defunct radio mast ahead of its £400,000 move down the road.

Durham Police is moving the mast – a 150ft-high needle-like structure – from its old headquarters in Aykley Heads to its new base, which is just across the road.

It has to move the grade II listed structure because of a planning condition imposed which means it cannot be demolished.

The crane is being used to take down the mast in sections, which will then be moved to the new headquarters before being put back together again.

A police spokesperson said: “The mast is sectional so will be dismantled in parts with use of a heavy crane. The largest section is a 30m spire.

“The parts will then be laid flat and transported to the front of headquarters. They will then be examined and conservation work carried out in line with planning requirements.”

It is not known when the mast will be reassembled in its new location at the front of the new £15m headquarters, which opened in August 2014.

Turner and Townsend have been appointed to carry out the work.

The 1960s mast, which weighs almost 50 tonnes, was designed by Brutalist engineer Ove Arup, who also created Kingsgate Bridge, which crosses the River Wear in Durham, the Sydney Opera House and the penguin pool at London Zoo.

Engineers are using archived footage of the mast being erected in 1968 to ensure it is dismantled in the correct order.

Officially the County Police Communications Tower, it was made of precast, reinforced concrete, allowing for a rigid, but slender structure that would not block views of Durham Cathedral.

It was listed in March 2003 despite the fact it no longer works because its technology is outdated.

Police had originally wanted to knock the mast down as part of its plans to move headquarters but had to reconsider following a campaign by English Heritage and the City of Durham Trust, which described it as “a fine sculptural form.”

Police say it is cheaper to move it at a cost of around £400,000, than leave it on the old site as it would have knocked £1m of the value of the land.

The land was sold off last year for an undisclosed sum, believed to have been more than £20m, to be used as housing.

Persimmon Homes is building more than 200 houses on the site and is marketing the development as Aykley Woods.