Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been on Teesside this morning and explained how the area was chosen for freeport status in Wednesday's Budget.

He told the BBC's Breakfast programme he had taken a "range of criteria" into account.

"We thought about an area's unemployment rate and we looked at the deliverability of the bid so you've seen eight regions benefit from freeports.

"We want to get money to as many places where we want to level-up opportunity."

Freeports are usually located around shipping ports, or airports and goods that arrive into from abroad aren't subject to the tax charges, called tariffs, that are normally paid to the government.

You can read more about them by clicking here.

Only 180 of the 1.5 million youth football players in England will make it to the Premier League. So what happens to the rest?

The list of places in England receiving funds is dominated by the north west, Yorkshire and Midlands.

Listen to BBC radio commentary as Leicester Tigers host London Irish and Newcastle Falcons travel to Sale in the Gallagher Premiership.

Deese Kasinga’s dreams came true when he signed a two-year deal at Newcastle aged 16. But this soon turned into heartbreak when he faced a huge setback.

Hartlepool miss chance to close the gap on National League leaders Torquay after being held to a draw at Halifax.

Middlesbrough come from behind to beat Coventry City and reignite their play-off hopes.

Sunderland move up to fourth and within five points of League One's automatic promotion places after beating Swindon 1-0.

Listen to BBC local radio commentary from Saturday's action in the National League.

BBC Radio Tees

Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium is to open as a mass vaccination centre.

MPs from across Teesside held a meeting with the Vaccine Minister Nadhim Zahawi last week to discuss the plans.

A date is yet to be confirmed, but the opening is understood to be planned for mid-March.

Simon Clarke, Conservative MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, said he was "delighted", and Middlesbrough's Labour MP Andy McDonald has described it as "wonderful news".

It follows the opening of a mass vaccination centre in Darlington yesterday.

Four of the hides at the centre near Druridge Bay were badly damaged by "mindless thugs".

The brain tumour centre at a Newcastle hospital has been recognised as a centre of excellence by the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission.

The facility at the Royal Victoria Infirmary is one of nine around the country to receive the honour for the “outstanding care and treatment” of patients with brain cancer.

Among those treated there was Dentistry Professor Jimmy Steele (pictured below) who was head of Newcastle's Dental school.

He was told he had a glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer in December 2015, and died less than two years after the diagnosis.

Image source, Newcastle NHS

His wife Prof Kate Bushby (pictured with Jimmy Steele below), was inspired to take a voluntary role with the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission in establishing the network of centres of excellence.

She said: "The task is to build even more on excellence, both within the centres already designated and also developing and spreading excellence more broadly so that in the end no patient with a brain tumour is left behind."

Image source, Family photo

Leaders representing Newcastle, Gateshead, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland, and County Durham, have urged residents to "stay vigilant and help us recover”.

It comes after a sunny weekend, which saw scores of people gather at beaches, riversides and parks, with some concerned about a lack of social distancing.

The councils praised the “vast majority” of residents for being “magnificent” at following lockdown rules, but said there is a danger "of undoing all that good work if we all don’t continue to do so".

"This weekend saw the good weather attract many people outdoors for their exercise. That’s understandable, but please remember to only meet up with one other person or stay within your household or support bubble, and stay local."

Newcastle forwards Miguel Almiron and Allan Saint-Maximin are ruled out until April after picking up injuries in Saturday's draw against Wolves.

Relive all of Tuesday's action as Cardiff thrash Derby to go sixth in the Championship, while fifth-placed Reading also win.

The GMB Union says employees say they were told to sign a loan agreement or face possible dismissal.

Newcastle are facing several civil claims regarding the behaviour of former employee George Ormond, who in 2018 received a 20-year jail sentence for multiple cases of sexual abuse.

There's been a spate of vandalism at a Northumberland wildlife-watching spot, with four bird hides damaged.

Hauxley Wildlife Discovery centre, next to Druridge Bay, is considered to be one of the best bird-watching spots in the North East, attracting about 140 bird species a year.

The Northumberland Wildlife Trust site is currently closed because of Covid restrictions but wardens discovered the Tern Hide had suffered a huge amount of damage.

Three further hides were also vandalised.

Image source, Northumberland Wildlife Trust

Director of Conservation Duncan Hutt said: "We've got devastation in here, with benches on the ground, the shelving smashed up and the windows all broken. Every single window in the hide is broken.

"There's a huge amount of damage and a huge amount of repairs to be done before we're able to open the site again and we're hoping that might be in April some time."

Image source, Nothumberland Wildlife Trust