BRADFORD'S early morning skyline showed a rather different picture today as a new IMAX screen was delivered to the National Media Museum.

A large crane was required to lift the lengthy screen into the city centre building through the roof before the museum's doors opened to the public at 10am.

It was an early 4.30am start for the crew responsible for getting the valuable screen into position - and all was delivered safely into the theatre by 8am.

The new 60ft by 48ft screen is part of a £780,000 investment to upgrade the IMAX theatre using a loan from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

It involves fitting a new screen and a digital projection system as well as improved seats with more leg room.

Director of the National Media Museum Jo Quinton-Tulloch said: "Today is a huge milestone for our IMAX cinema refurbishment. The wind and the rain stayed away this morning and we completed the extremely delicate operation of lowering the brand new, state-of-the-art IMAX screen through the roof and into our newly refurbished theatre.

"We’re very much in the final stretch of the project now and only weeks away from bringing the biggest releases on the biggest screen to film-lovers in Bradford and beyond."

The final showing before work started was the end of June and the cinema is due to reopen in early September, well ahead of some of the big releases scheduled for the end of the year, such as Bond film Spectre and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Bradford’s IMAX was the first in Europe when it opened in 1983 and is still the biggest screen in Yorkshire, though the new screen is marginally narrower than the one it replaces.

The upgrade work comes as outline plans for a six-screen cinema as part of The Broadway shopping centre development are expected to be determined this week.

Details of the scheme were submitted to Bradford Council in June by the building and shopping centre owner Meyer Bergman.

If approved, the scheme would convert the mainly vacant units at 14 to 20 Broadway into a cinema, dining, and leisure development, creating 100 new jobs.

As reported in the Telegraph & Argus, trustees of the National Media Museum have objected to the plans, claiming the project could threaten the future of the flagship venue.

The letter to Council planners argues against the proposal saying the bid would "demonstrate considerable adverse effects to its business".