Tyneside and Northumberland stories you might have missed

The Fishers Arms in Horncliffe, near Berwick-upon-Tweed, reopened in December 2023 after a massive fundraising effort

A controversial round-the-clock Greggs, a Metro carriage donated to the fire service and volunteers struggling to keep a pub running.

Here are five stories from across Tyneside and Northumberland you might have missed this week.

24-hour pasty people

Greggs has applied to open its branch on Neville Street in Newcastle around the clock

A Greggs bakery risks becoming a "focal point" for crime and disorder if it is allowed to stay open around the clock, according to police.

The chain has applied to extend the opening hours of its Newcastle branch on Neville Street, opposite Central Station, to operate 24-hours a day. It also wants to lengthen the hours of its shop on nearby Grainger Street.

Northumbria Police told a Newcastle City Council licensing hearing that doing so would likely lead to more drunken people staying the area and put them at risk of becoming victims of crime, but Greggs said it could help disperse revellers.

The authority is set to make a decision within the next week.

• Read more about the around-the-clock Greggs here

Metro train donated to fire crews

Firefighters will use the carriage to train for real-life scenarios

A fire service has been given a decommissioned Metro carriage to help crews recreate emergency situations.

Nexus has donated one of its old trains - the 40-tonne yellow No. 4019 carriage - to the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFS) training centre, as it rolls out its new fleet.

The carriage, which is 29m (95ft) long, will sit on a stretch of purpose-built track, allowing teams to recreate scenarios including collisions.

• Read more about the decommissioned train here

'Saving pub cost £300k but no-one wants to run it'

Villagers Moira Kay and Louise Giddens said keeping the pub running was "relentless"

Villagers who "slogged" to raise more than £300,000 to buy their under-threat local pub say they are baffled that no-one wants to step in and run it.

The Fishers Arms in Horncliffe, near Berwick-upon-Tweed, shut in 2021 but reopened in December 2023 after a massive fundraising effort to make it a community asset.

After its first tenants quit within three months, only one couple has applied for the tenancy but then backed out.

Moira Kay, who is part of a team of volunteers who work 14-hour days to keep the venue open, said villagers desperately wanted a couple to "fall in love with our beloved pub" and take on a "viable business".

• Read more about the pub volunteers here

Two sites in North East become 'AI growth zone'

The £10bn data centre was confirmed earlier this year

Plans to make it easier to develop AI projects at two sites in north-east England have been revealed.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said Blyth in Northumberland and Cobalt Park in North Tyneside are to be made an AI growth zone, which will "boost economic growth" and create "thousands of jobs".

Teesworks in Redcar was not included in the announcement, despite Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen previously saying the government had given its "commitment" to award the site the same status.

Houchen's spokesperson said proposals for the status "remain in progress". DSIT said it was working through more than 200 proposals, including Redcar, to "identify the most promising".

• Read more about the AI projects here

Skateboarding 'under Gateshead's grotty flyover'

Regulars at a skatepark that has been popular since the 1980s say they hope it can be at least partly relocated ahead of planned demolition works.

The Five Bridges skatepark, located under the doomed A167 Gateshead Highway flyover, is set to be removed as part of an £18m works by Gateshead Council.

Skaters have been unable to use the space since August, when the flyover above was shut over fears loose concrete could collapse.

Gateshead Council previously said it would work to "find skaters a new home", but many believe the historical significance of the skatepark justifies saving some of its features.