So, to recap what's happened today:

- SSI's Redcar steel plant is to be mothballed with the loss of 1,700 jobs.  

- Workers tell of devastation at the decision.

- Watch Look North on BBC One for reports and reaction or catch up on the iPlayer. 

- Listen to BBC Tees tonight and from 05:00 tomorrow for the latest news.

- Our online coverage continues through the night, and our live page will return at 08:00 on Tuesday. We hope you can join us then.

Image source, PA

Here's Linda Robinson, whose brother and son-in-law have both lost their jobs from the Redcar steelworks. She's continuing her demonstration outside the SSI plant.

Image source, PA

BBC Tees
www.bbc.co.uk/BBCTees

Redcar and Cleveland Council Leader Sue Jeffrey tells BBC Tees  every department is working to support workers.

This is the scene this evening at the gates to Redcar's SSI steel plant as worried workers leave for the night after learning that 1,700 jobs are to be lost as the plant is mothballed.

Image source, PA

David Howard gets in touch to say:

"It seems abhorrent to me that we have a willing and committed workforce, engineering construction projects on the drawing boards and in build, many millions of tonnes of coal underground and we cannot prevent this plant from shutting down.

"The government has a duty to protect our industrial capabilities and if required then yes, to subsidise them, to ring fence projects using British steel and above all, keep the skills and industry in this country going.  

"How can it be economical to bring coal from Australia unless their government are subsidising production?"

Listen live to BBC Tees here.

Cleaning up the Redcar SSI plant if it closes permanently could cost £1bn and leave 9,000 people out of work, a union boss claims. 

Community chairman Paul Warren says the government needs to take action to safeguard the steel industry on Teesside, or the cost to the whole country could be huge. 

he said: "One thing's for certain - if we don't leave this plant in a mothballed state, the bigger bill is going to land on the government in time to come. Because we know fine well that the cleanup bill is £1bn, we know then that we'll have 9,000 people on the dole.

"We're looking at crime, we're looking at poverty, we're looking at house prices. So whether they like it or not, eventually that bill is going to come to them, one way or another."

BBC Tees
www.bbc.co.uk/BBCTees

Redcar must not become stigmatised with the label of "bad news", a housing association boss says.

Iain Sim, chief executive of Coast & Country, the largest social housing body in Redcar and Cleveland, said:  “This shattering news will have a profound effect on so many families in our area.                                                                 

"We must not let our region be characterised by bad news and must work in partnership to support our communities through this.”

Redcar does, after all, have a lot going for it, as this photo shows:

Iron and steel making at the Redcar plant on Teesside is to be mothballed, with the loss of 1,700 jobs.

The plant is owned by the Thai company, SSI, and was mothballed by its previous owner Tata Steel in 2010.

Watch worker John Muirhead describe the announcement as "heartbreaking".

The government must focus on securing jobs on Teesside rather than chasing Chinese contracts, Stockton North Labour MP Alex Cunningham says, external.

He said: "The time for government action is long overdue and instead of the Chancellor trying to persuade the Chinese to bid for lucrative contracts to build our railways, he should be doing something to stop them dumping their cheap steel into the British and European markets.  

"At the same time, the Prime Minister must intervene to bring forward the protection from high energy and related costs being suffered by our energy-intensive industries.  

"Only then will we have a chance to rebuild our once proud steel industry.”  

Another worker leaving the SSI plant in Redcar told the BBC: "It's not just the money, it's the place you work at. 

"It's such a camaraderie and stuff like that, so... we still don't exactly know what's happening with the consultation, but we're not very happy."

Staff leaving SSI in Redcar have been reacting to the news 1,700 jobs will be lost.

One said: "It's all still up in the air, really - but it's just one of them things, isn't it? 

"We knew it could have happened, there's nothing we can do about it, is there?" 

An emergency motion by Redcar Labour MP Anna Turley calling on the government to develop an "active industrial strategy" to support the British steel industry has been unanimously approved at the party's conference.

It also called for a review of the state aid rules "to allow intervention in an emergency situation".

Rob Rose emails us saying:

"It's very sad news for the country regarding SSI. When will the government start to back UK workers and UK businesses instead of selling us off to every other country on the cheap. 

"I have two children and how do you tell them that people running the country for last 30 years have sold every thing on the cheap for a quick buck?"

Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Owen Smith has called on the Government to "get up off your knees" to save steel worker jobs in Redcar. 

Speaking to Labour's conference following an emergency debate about SSI's Redcar plant, he said the party "sends our solidarity to workers in Redcar".

He challenged the Government to help save the steelworks - "get on and save their jobs and save our steel industry".

Redcar Labour MP Anna Turley says the government did not do enough to safeguard jobs at SSI.

She's calling for it to be more active in supporting UK steel making. She says: "There is a future for British steel-making - we can compete globally. 

"We've been asking the government for months, in fact years, to reduce some of the burdens that we face in this country, that are disproportionate to our European competitors. 

"Whether that's business rates, that are six times the price of our competitors overseas. Whether it is energy costs and compensation packages."

The business community will work with SSI to support the community in Redcar, the North East Chamber of Commerce says.

Chief executive James Ramsbotham said: “We are incredibly disappointed by the news of the mothballing of the Redcar blast furnace, but understand the decision given the huge pressures on the international steel markets. 

"We thank the SSIUK management and staff for working so hard to try to ensure a positive outcome.

"The business community stands ready to work together to support the company and workforce as we continue to hold the ambition to retain steel-making on Teesside for the future.”