John Macdonald watched his first Middlesbrough match in 1929.

BBC Sport

Today's BBC Sport football gossip column features a report in The Sun claiming relegated Sunderland are eyeing up Derby County coach Kevin Phillips as their next manager.

The 44-year-old scored more than 100 goals for the Black Cats between 1997 and 2003.

Image source, Getty Images

Stephanie Finnon
BBC Newcastle

A charity set up in memory of two Tyneside teenagers who died in the Manchester Arena terror attack last May has raised £70,000.

Chloe Rutherford and Liam Curry, from South Shields, were at the Ariane Grande concert where an explosion killed 22 people.

Image source, Family photo

Their parents set up the Chloe and Liam Together Forever Trust to help young people who shared Chloe's passion for performance and Liam's for sport.

Chloe's father Mark said both families had been overwhelmed by the level of public support.

The Gazette
Newspaper

Two on-the-run brothers who dodged sentencing for a plot to steal from a disabled £1m lottery winner may have fled the country., external

Image source, Gazette

Police are appealing for information after a play area in a Hartlepool park was set on fire on Monday evening.

A group of about 10 children, both boys and girls aged 13 to 14 years old, were seen leaving Burn Valley Gardens at about 19:30.

Image source, Cleveland Police

Explosive canisters used to warn of railway line dangers have been stolen from an address in Redcar, police have said.

More than a dozen fog signal detonators were taken from an address on Aintree Road on Monday afternoon.

Image source, Cleveland Police

They are used to warn other train drivers of incidents on the line ahead during dense fog where track signals are difficult to see.

They are described as yellow and around 5cm in diameter.

A Cleveland Police spokesman said: "These items could potentially pose a risk and we would like to locate them to prevent any harm being caused."

A top doctor in the North East is calling on the government to implement a minimum price on units of alcohol.

Image source, PA

Dr Guy Pilkington, clinical chairman of the Newcastle and Gateshead Clinical Commissioning Group, says people are self harming with cheap lethal booze.

The call comes as Scotland has introduced a 50p per unit minimum pricing on alcohol, but the campaigners says the five-year wait for England to follow suit is too long.

They claim a delay of this length could mean 75 alcohol related deaths, 11,000 related crimes, 4,600 hospital admissions across the North East region, costing almost £66m.

Lisa Gallagher
Weather presenter, BBC Look North

It will be a chilly but bright start to the day, with a touch of frost in some parts.

As the day develops cloud will gradually increase, with the chance of a few showers.

Eastern areas are likely to see more of these showers.

Temperatures should reach about 10 to 13C (50 to 55F).

Richard Lee has told BBC Breakfast the five-week excavation around a riverbank offers new hope his daughter Katrice may be found.

Katrice, from Hartlepool, vanished in Germany in 1981, but a new search for her is being carried out this week.

Mr Lee said: "I'm overjoyed, but it's like living a nightmare because for five weeks we have to wait for the excavation to take place."

The sister of Katrice Lee - the Hartlepool toddler who went missing in 1981 - has spoken about her hopes and fears following the announcement that a new search operation will start this week.

Katrice vanished around the military base in Paderborn in Germany where her father was based.

A hundred soldiers will be searching the area.

Natasha Lee always hoped that her sister was found living with another family but says this investigation could find her body.

Image source, Family photo

Good morning and welcome to BBC Local Live. We'll be with you throughout the day to bring you the latest news, weather, sport and travel updates.

Have you got any photos you'd like to share with us? In that case you can tweet them to @BBCNewsNE, external, email them, or contact us via our Facebook page, external.

BBC News Travel

The A1(M) northbound lane is closed on the exit slip road due to a broken down car and recovery work at J53/A6136 Gatherley Road (Catterick North).

Traffic is currently said to be coping well.

Councillors warn worries over plans for maternity, children's and stroke care have not been addressed.

Has Ellis Short left Sunderland with a "clean sheet" despite his troubled reign as owner of the relegated Black Cats?

Newcastle's on-loan forward Islam Slimani is charged with violent conduct after an off-the-ball incident during their defeat by West Brom.

Our live updates here have now finished for the day, thank you for joining us.

This feed will be updated through the night with any breaking news and sport as well as any travel updates. You can also stay up to date on BBC Newcastle, BBC Tees and on Look North.

We'll be back with more updates from 08:00 tomorrow.

Have you got any news or photos you'd like to share with us? In that case you can tweet them to @BBCNewsNE, external, email them,or contact us via our Facebook page, external.

Windy at first, but as the night progresses winds will abate. Skies will be clear, making for a chilly and settled end to the night.

Minimum Temperature: -2 to 1C (28 to 34F).

Tomorrow it will be chilly and bright to start. Thereafter, expect a partly cloudy and increasingly breezy day with some spells of sunshine, and a milder feel than of late.

Maximum Temperature: 10 to 13C (50 to 55F).

Two chickens belonging to young children were killed during a burglary at an allotment in Middlesbrough.

Police say a shed window was smashed so those responsible to reach in and throw things at the birds.

It happened on Saltersgill Avenue between 19.30 on Thursday and 07.30 on Friday.

Laura Hill
Local Democracy Reporter

Gateshead has welcomed the second highest number of Syrian refugees in terms of council area in the UK but not enough is being done to meet their needs, a charity report has found.

Since the last quarter of 2015 up until the end of 2017, 687 refugees fleeing Syria have been rehomed in the North East.

Gateshead has taken the highest proportion of these, with 221, followed by Newcastle with and County Durham with 112.

But a report by the Newcastle Council for Voluntary Service (CVS), which covers both Newcastle and Gateshead, found that the additional needs of refugees and asylum seekers are not being met.

The report says that asylum seekers are being pushed away from mainstream services, leading to destitution and poverty.

It says: "The 'hostile environment' policies mean that refused asylum seekers are increasingly pushed away from accessing mainstream services and underground making them increasingly vulnerable."