Anna Snowdon
BBC Local Live

Former Sunderland player Anton Ferdinand has been banned from driving after he was caught speeding.

Image source, Getty Images

Ferdinand, who currently plays for Southend United, was caught doing 38mph on a 30mph road in Billericay, Essex.

Nissan has launched a longer-range version of its best-selling Leaf electric vehicle, as it fights growing competition in the electric car market.

The new Leaf can travel about 50% further on a single charge than its predecessor, according to the firm.

But it still falls short of the ranges offered by other recent electric cars from Tesla and General Motors.

European production of the last-generation Leaf has taken place in Sunderland, which has produced more than 70,000 of the electric vehicles.

A spokesman for Nissan told the BBC the firm had yet to announce where the new version would be produced.

Keaton Jennings' batting struggles continue as Kent take control against Durham on a rain-affected first day.

A number of children across the region have been penalised for their school uniform after returning for the new year, reports say.

The Sunderland Echo says pupils at a one school , externalwere forced to “line up in the rain” while teachers colour-matched their trousers to make sure they had been bought from the right shop.

And The Chronicle says that in Killingworth about 100 pupils were told their uniform was not correct, external and were placed in "timeout". Issues included having the wrong shoes, trousers or skirts

Anna Snowdon
BBC Local Live

A teenager was threatened with an axe in the Mill Vale area of Newburn.

A group of boys threw eggs at a car before fleeing the area but a man is alleged to have got out of his vehicle and found one of them hiding nearby.

He reportedly threatened the 14-year-old with an axe before kneeing him in the head. The boy received minor injuries in the incident at 21:45 on 12 June.

Police only released details today.

Image source, Northumbria Police

Police would like to speak to this man who was in the area and may be able to help them.

Durham chairman Sir Ian Botham has criticised the decision to leave Ben Stokes out of England's Twenty20 match at his home ground.

England host West Indies in a one-off T20 international on 16 September at Chester-le-Street, which is the Durham all-rounder's home ground.

The England and Wales Cricket Board are giving Stokes and Moeen Ali a break ahead of the winter's Ashes series in Australia, but their timing has been criticised by Botham.

Writing in his column in The Mirror, external he said: "Ben Stokes being stood down from the T20 international on his home ground has left me bitterly disappointed.

"The ECB has decided that a T20 match for the world's most exciting player - and a local hero to boot - is a game too far so he won't be able to show his skills to the people of the North East."

Image source, Getty Images

Legendary commentator John Motson will call time on his BBC career aged 72 after the conclusion of the current football season.

The broadcaster, popularly known as Motty, is in his 50th consecutive year with the corporation.

To mark the occasion BBC Sport has remembered five of his greatest moments on the microphone and - look away Newcastle fans - one of them is his commentary of Hereford beating the Magpies in the FA Cup third-round replay in 1972, one of the biggest shocks in the competition's history.

A County Durham student is starting her A-levels today thanks to a robot in her seat while she learns from home.

Jade Gadd suffers from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome which means she's often left bed-bound.

But using a robot that Jade controls by an iPad means she can take part in lessons, and keep up in her studies

The technology, thought to be the first of its kind in the UK, could pave the way for the 17-year-old to go to university.

Peter Harris
BBC Look North

Sentencing continues later of a gang who have been convicted or admitted offences relating to child sexual exploitation in Newcastle.

The vulnerable victims, some as young as 14, were exploited by a "cynical organisation" and plied with drink and drugs, Newcastle Crown Court has heard.

The 17 men and one woman were convicted of rape, supplying drugs and conspiracy to incite prostitution as part of Northumbria Police's long-running Operation Sanctuary investigation.

Image source, Northumbria Police

Over the course of four trials, 20 young women gave evidence covering a period from 2011 to 2014.

Jahanghir Zaman, 45, of Hadrian Road, was sentenced to 29 years for rape, sexual exploitation and drugs offences.

Mohammed Azram, 35, of Croydon Road, was handed 12-and-a-half years for sexual exploitation and drugs offences.

Anders Johansen spent his summer watching English football: he has now been to 445 grounds.

Lisa Gallagher
Weather presenter, BBC Look North

A bright and breezy, fresher day for most with the best of the sunshine to the east of the Pennines.

Cloudier at times across the north Pennines and Cheviots with a few light showers.

Temperatures will manage to nudge up to 17C (62F) across the region.

Check the forecast near you.

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