Shipping containers become hotel

Each room's fixtures were put in place before being transported to the UK

The first hotel in Europe to be made from modified steel shipping containers has opened in west London.

The 120-room Travelodge is built from 86 high-strength steel containers, which were constructed in China then fitted together on its Uxbridge site.

It took 20 days to piece the containers together on the site, where access for traditional building work was limited.

A Travelodge spokesman said: "This technique will cut costs and speed up construction times significantly."

The modular build technique was invented by UK firm Verbus Systems.

Each room's fixtures and fittings were put in place in China before the containers were transported to the UK.

The hotel is located on a busy road on a site surrounded by land, so without the new technique Travelodge said it was unlikely it could have been built there.

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The modular build technique by developed by a British firm

Two different sizes of container were used to build the hotel, creating double rooms measuring 5m by 3m (16.4ft by 9.8ft) and family rooms measuring 3.5m by 6m (11.5ft by 19.6ft).

Travelodge is also using the technique to build a 307-room hotel at Heathrow airport in west London.