Local Democracy Reporting Service

Metro users in South Tyneside are being warned to expect more than 10 minutes added to their journeys as work begins on a new £21m transport interchange.

Nexus will carry out track and signalling updates before the interchange opens in South Shields next year.

Travellers are expected to face up to 10 months of disruption.

Phase one of the works starts next month.

BBC Newcastle

Heworth Leisure centre will be closed for at least the rest of the day after part of the roof came off in Storm Ali.

Gateshead Council says its structural engineers haven't been able to get on the roof - where one corrugated panel has come off and one is loose.

They say the earliest engineers will be able to get up is tomorrow - as more strong winds are forecast for tonight.

The leisure centre will be closed for the forseeable future.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

The old Southlands Business centre in Middlesbrough could be turned into a "sporting hub".

The future of the site is still unclear following Middlesbrough Council's decision in April to close it.

A new report was published this week that revealed a possible alternative use for the site.

The Southlands Next Steps report sets out a number of formal recommendations: -

The demolition of the existings buildings at the Ormesby Road site.

A public consultation for a new £1.2m community facility

Exiting artificial pitch to be retained and refurbished at a cost of £300,000.

Construction of extra sports pitches.

Middlesbrough Council's Executive Sub Committee for Property meets on September 26 to discuss the recommendations.

Nadine Shah from South Tyneside is one of the front runners to claim the Mercury music prize at tonight's awards ceremony in London.

The 32-year old singer-songwriter from Whitburn has been nominated for her album Holiday Destination.

It's one of 12 contenders for this year's award which includes Lilly Allen, The Arctic Monkeys and Noel Gallagher.

There will be live TV and radio coverage on BBC Four and BBC Radio 6 Music.

They operated from a flat in Greater Manchester and flooded north-east England with drugs.

The haul including Class A drugs and cannabis plants had been seized over the past three months.

BBC Newcastle

A man who suffered serious head injuries outside of a County Durham pub has died in hospital.

Iain Lee was injured outside of the Roundhouse Bar in Newton Aycliffe on September 8th.

Nathan Buckland, from Lumley Close in the area, has appeared in court charged with assault occasioning grievous bodily harm.

Police say they are now reviewing that charge before his next court appearance

"No-one took charge" during the timetable chaos that caused severe disruption on Britain's railways in May, a regulator has said.

Passengers on Northern Rail were hit by delays and cancellations after the industry attempted to introduce the biggest timetable change in a generation,

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) blamed a lack of "responsibility and accountability" for the problems and said passengers were "badly treated".

It said track manager Network Rail, two train operators - Northern and Govia Thameslink - and the Department for Transport "had all made mistakes.

Image source, Stephen Pimlott

More on the story that County Durham teenager Courtney Hadwin has finished in sixth placein the final of America's Got Talent.

The 14-year-old from Hesleden, County Durham, was among the favourites to win the $1m (£760,000) prize.

She took to Twitter to thank fans for their support but ultimately ended up in sixth place.

BBC Look North
North East and Cumbria

North East scientists are to spearhead a multimillion-pound research project that hopes to revolutionise treatment for people with liver cancer.

Experts at Newcastle University will lead a project with five million pounds of funding from Cancer Research UK and two of Europe's leading cancer research charities to help find better treatments for the disease.

The researchers' aim is to adapt immunotherapy treatments.

BBC Newcastle

A man is in a critical condition in hospital after a crash in Wallsend.

The two-car collision happened on Station Road North at 23:15 last night.

The 56-year-old was taken to Newcastle's RVI.

An 82-year-old woman suffered minor injuries.

The road was closed for about four hours after the smash.

Traidcraft says it has been badly hit by a drop in the value of the pound and retail difficulties.

Who do you think should be in a county team of the season? Pick your own XI and share it with friends.

A two-star Michelin restaurant in County Durham is at the centre of a row over parking.

The Raby Hunt in the tiny village of Summerhouse near Darlington is famed for its original and visual food.

James Close is the chef and owner, and he wants to extend the venue to provide extra bedrooms.

Image source, Google

But neighbours say more overnight guests will create more parking problems, and some have resorted to making their own "residential parking" signs and put out cones to ward off diners.

Mr Close was approached for an interview but the restaurant declined to comment.

The aftermath of Storm Ali is continuing to cause problems across the North East with thousands of homes and businesses still without power.

High winds blew roofs off houses, caused havoc for commuters on the trains and brought traffic to a standstill in areas due to fallen trees.

There was major disruption on the East Coast Main Line because of overhead line problems, and delays remain with passengers heading to York or Edinburgh out of Newcastle urged to check before travel.

Sunderland Echo
Newspaper

He's today's front page and a link to our main story, external.

Image source, Sunderland Echo

Engineers worked overnight to restore supplies.