Updates on Thursday 14 January 2016
Lloyd Watson
BBC Local Live
We'll be back with updates on the news, weather and travel for the North East from 08:00 tomorrow.
In the meantime, you can tweet, external us, email us, or contact us through our Facebook page, external.
We hope you can join us then.
Paul Mooney
BBC Weather
Skies clearing this evening to leave a cold and mainly clear night with a widespread sharp frost forming.
A few icy patches are likely too. Strong winds near Seaham and along the coast should ease a little.
Minimum temperature: -2C (28F). Check the forecast near you.
Two Middlesbrough matches will be shown on television in March, the club has confirmed.
The two home games against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Hull City have been moved to Friday evening kick-offs.
The former is the second of three games to be played in the space of seven days, with two away trips to Blackburn (rescheduled) and Rotherham on the Tuesdays either side.
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Gerry Jackson
BBC Look North
Today sees the official launch of this year's Sport Relief.
Just like Comic Relief and Children In Need, a lot of the money raised goes to small charities and community projects.
But not everything Sport Relief does is as obvious as you might think.
I've been to see a project that received a grant last year which sees volunteers restoring boats from a century ago.
I'll have more on this story on BBC Look North on BBC One at 18:30.
Senegal striker Dame N’Doye joins Sunderland from Turkish side Trabzonspor on loan until the end of the season.
The 30-year-old appeared for Hull City in the Premier League last season after joining in February, only to leave once the Tigers were relegated.
Black Cats boss Sam Allardyce said: “Dame will bring something different to our forward options.
"Having already played in the Premier League he should have no problems in hitting the ground running too, which is very important at this stage of the season”.
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A cold weather system has seen snow falling in many parts of the UK.
The Met Office has issued yellow "be aware" warnings for further snow in north and west Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and south-west England on Friday.
Image source, PAIce is also expected to affect parts of the country, including north-east England.
How has the snow affected other parts of the North? Have a look here.
A flood alert has been issued for the coast from St Mary's lighthouse in North Tyneside down to Crimdon Park it North Hartlepool.
It means that flooding "is possible", the Met Office says, external.
It says onshore winds and large waves could cause spray and waves along low lying areas such as Seaburn and Hendon promenades between now and 18:30.
Image source, Alf EdmundsonMichael Mordey from Sunderland City Council said: "We'd ask people to be careful and not to put themselves at risk if they are venturing near the promenade at Seaburn and Hendon.
"The high tides we usually get at this time of year coupled with strong winds and high waves from the current weather system means we could see waves crashing over the promenades and it's important for people to be aware of this."
Armed police attended a road in Darlington following a report that a house was being burgled by men with weapons.
Yarm Road was closed until about 15:20, at which time police were satisfied no weapons were present.
The investigation is ongoing but police say they do not believe there is a risk to the wider community.
A council says it is doing all it can to repair a road damaged by a landslide.
John Reed from Durham County Council: "[The damage is] quite significant. The landslip occurred following Storm Desmond on the 5 December and was caused by saturated ground conditions.
"It has taken away quite a lot of the road, however, one lane remains open under temporary traffic lights so traffic can still get through there.
"Significant repairs are required and unfortunately to complete those repairs, which will take about two weeks, we do need to close the road completely.
"The diversion route wouldn't be that long... the main diversionary route would be along the main roads along the A689 and A68 - but of course there is a network of local roads that will provide a shorter diversion.
"In a traffic-sensitive road like this, we tend to plan to do works during the school holidays when the traffic is a bit lighter. The next window of opportunity is during the Easter holidays."
BBC Tees
www.bbc.co.uk/BBCTees
A community in rural County Durham's potentially facing a 72-mile diversion after a landslip.
There are fears that the upper dales could be cut off from the rest of Teesdale during repair work of the B6277.
A landslip has closed one lane, but the whole road will need to shut while it's repaired.
Sue Matthews runs the Langdon Beck Hotel in Upper Teessdale, and says: "The heavy rain seems to have taken some of the road away.
"One of the problems is that the fixing of that seems to entail closing the road and obviously that's a concern because we could easily be cut off if the weather is particularly bad.
"There's a potential for diversions from here - one of them would take 72 miles and the other would be 30 miles - and in bad weather they are probably both impassable."
Star Wars figurines have sold for more than £300 at an auction in Newcastle.
The pieces were sold for £320 to a local buyer in Tyne and Wear.
They went under the hammer yesterday at Anderson and Garland Auctioneers.
The Northern Echo
Newspaper
Tributes have been paid to a respected North East journalist who has died following a long battle with illness, external.
Image source, The Northern EchoFertility services at Hartlepool hospital are to be axed because it has been impossible to recruit enough embryologists to keep the unit going safely, managers have said.
Despite a campaign to save the services, North Tees and Hartlepool Foundation Trust has announced it is "reluctantly" stopping them and is referring patients to other hospitals.
Chris Gibson's daughter Scarlett was born thanks to the expertise of the doctors in Hartlepool, and he has vowed to fight on to get the fertility clinic re-instated.
But trust medical director David Emerton said the shortage of embryologists had left them with no choice.
The former chief constable of Northumbria Police, Sue Sim, who lead the manhunt for Raoul Moat back in 2010, believes officers with firearms capabilities are necessary around the country.
Labour's Chukka Umunna is a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee and wants to see thought being given to such a need in UK cities.
Ms Sim told the BBC: "When you start talking about something of the like of the Paris incident, for that a local force like Northumbria could not in any way cope with that type of incident other than giving a very, very initial first response and I would suggest that that would be the same for any of the forces in the country."
Owain Wyn Evans
Weather presenter, BBC Look North
The snow will pull away to the South East, gradually becoming drier but it will turn very cold tonight.
I'll be back with another update shortly. Check the forecast near you.
A story that did very well on social media yesterday was the memorial service for former Newcastle and Czech Republic goalkeeper Pavel Srnicek.
See photos of who attended the event here, external and watch a video of the memorial here, external.
Image source, PANewcastle Airport's snow team were called into action this morning to clear the runways.
Image source, Newcastle AirportOwain Wyn Evans
Weather presenter, BBC Look North
It will become drier into the afternoon, perhaps allowing some late sunny spells.
A cold day, accentuated by the strengthening wind.
Maximum temperature: 5C (41F). Check the forecast near you.
Here's the Angel of the North in the snow in Gateshead.
To send us your photos you can tweet, external us, email us, or contact us through our Facebook page, external.
Image source, PA
BBC Look North
North East and Cumbria
Fertility services can offer a beacon of hope to people desperate to have a baby.
But a North East hospital trust is scrapping them because of a lack of staff. North Tees and Hartlepool Trust is "reluctantly" ending its fertility service, referring patients to other units.
The local council's summoned the trust to explain its decision.