Fish pass for River Tyne salmon at Hexham Bridge

Some of the 40,000 salmon trying to make their way up the River Tyne this year will soon be getting a helping hand in the shape of a new man-made fish pass at Hexham Bridge.

A number of steep concrete drops at Hexham weir have long been a bottleneck for the migratory salmon heading upstream to spawn.

And although the pass has been eight years in the planning and construction, Susan Mackirdy the director of the Tyne River Trust, is convinced it will soon prove extremely popular with the salmon.