A shuttle bus service is being launched to drive down congestion caused by Sellafield workers.

Staff will be driven from Egremont on busses every 15 minutes to and from the sprawling nuclear site.

The company wants to clamp down on the number of cars driving onto site – and its neighbouring car parks – and hopes the new park and ride scheme will help ease the pressure.

From Monday drivers have the choice to park on the Copeland council-owned Chapel Street car park to catch the shuttle bus and claim back the price of the ticket.

This is part of a number of other traffic easing measures being launched by the company in the coming weeks.

A review of the amount of cars allowed to access the site with only one person inside will also be carried out, resulting in more workers car sharing.

A Sellafield Ltd spokeswoman said the firm was making "alternative transport options" available to employees as it continues to "alleviate parking and traffic issues."

She added: "These changes mean that fewer cars access the Sellafield site (and adjacent car parks) each day.

"Space on the Sellafield site is at a premium as we create new facilities that will support our clean-up mission.

"Clearly we cannot create a solution that is ideal for every individual commuter. However, this is part of a phased approach that will ultimately help reduce the burden on local road networks."

The Egremont park and ride scheme is being introduced as a temporary measure while more long-term solutions are developed.

Lena Hogg , chair of Egremont Town Council, said although she welcomes the move as it will bring more people into the town, she is shocked that she was not made aware of the plans.

"Although I think it's a good thing, it would have been nice to have been informed rather than being kept in the dark," she said.

"We as a town council discussed it a couple of years ago and thought it was a good idea as it would bring extra footfall to the town and businesses.

"But whoever has organised this should have held talks with the town council."