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Once the steam has generated as much electricity as it can (Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station is about 40% efficient), it's still too hot to go back into use.

To get the water down to the 300C they need to feed the reactor, the steam passes through a condenser, where it is cooled by water collected from the River Tees.

The water is collected, filtered and then pumped through a unit full of cooling pipes, through which the steam passes as it is slowly cooled by the river water.

Once the water has been used, it has to be left to cool itself, before being pumped out to the North Sea meaning, effectively, part of the River Tees flows through the power plant.