EDF Energy, the British unit of French giant EDF, said on Monday it had decided to shut down four nuclear reactors at two plants in northern England as a precaution. EDF Energy said it was shutting down two reactors at each of the Heysham and Hartlepool nuclear plants for at least about eight weeks. It follows a defect at one of the four reactors, which has kept it out of action since June. The decision to shut down an additional three reactors was described as a "conservative decision" in a statement issued by EDF Energy. It comes as Britain's government is placing nuclear power at the heart of its low-carbon energy policy, in stark contrast to Europe's biggest economy Germany, which vowed to phase it out in the wake of Japan's 2011 Fukushima disaster. Last year, Britain signed a £16-billion deal with EDF to build two reactors at Hinkley Point C, southwestern England, to help meet the country's future energy needs.