Matt Hancock said the rules for Hartlepool and Middlesbrough would be the same as those announced earlier in the week for the North East.

He told the Commons: "We recommend against all social-mixing between people in different households.

"We will bring in regulations, as we have in the North East, to prevent in law social mixing between people in different households in all settings except outdoor public spaces like parks and outdoor hospitality.

"We also recommend that people should not attend professional or amateur sporting events as spectators in the areas that are affected.

"We recommend that people only visit care homes in exceptional circumstances and there will be guidance against all but essential travel. Essential travel, of course, includes going to work or school."

Tighter restrictions on social mixing will be imposed in the Liverpool city region, Warrington, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough, Health Secretary Matt Hancock says.

He told the Commons: "Earlier this week we brought in further measures in the North East, however in parts of Teesside and the north-west of England cases continue to rise fast.

"In Liverpool, the number of cases is 268 per 100,000 population, so together we need to act.

"Working with council leaders and the mayors, I'm today extending these measures that have been in the North East since the start of this week to the Liverpool City Region, Warrington, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough.

"We will provide £7m to local authorities in these areas to support them with their vital work."

Breaking - Middlesbrough and Hartlepool are getting increased coronavirus restrictions similar to the seven North East areas announced this week.

Find out what the restrictions mean here.

A man with terminal cancer who did not know if he would meet his unborn child has welcomed his son into the world during the coronavirus pandemic.

Robert Allen was told his cancer had returned when his wife Kimberley was 14 weeks pregnant and given months to live, he was unsure if he would be around for their new arrival.

Daniel Holland
Local Democracy Reporter

Local authorities in the region are calling on the government to pay for extra council and police patrols to enforce new Covid-19 rules.

Tighter lockdown measures ban households from mixing in any indoor setting, including pubs and restaurants, across seven council areas - Newcastle, Gateshead, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland, and County Durham.

The Department of Health and Social Care said this week that a funding package “is being agreed with councils to support the measures and tackle the rising infection rate, with further details to be confirmed”.

Newcastle City Council cabinet member John-Paul Stephenson said the council had "requested this support directly from the government but so far we have heard nothing back".

"The government seems oblivious to the challenges that local authorities face enforcing the regulations," he said.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness said: "If the government had been clear with its communication throughout the pandemic people would understand restrictions better and enforcement would be more straightforward.”

TSB is to close 164 branches - a third - and cut about 900 jobs.

A "significant change in customer behaviour" and increased online banking drove the decision, the bank said.

The closure of the Chillingham Road branch in Newcastle was already announced. Hide Hill, Berwick will shut in March, St John Precinct, Hebburn and Blackhills Road, Horden in February, and High Street, Durham in May.

Campaign groups which said older and vulnerable customers would be hit hardest but the bank said the closures were not an "easy decision" and had been accelerated by the Covid pandemic.

Image source, Getty Images

A 200-year-old bridge that links England and Scotland has shut for 15 months for a £10m upgrade.

The Union Chain Bridge was built across the River Tweed in 1820 and was the first vehicular bridge of its type in the UK.

Diversions for vehicles, foot passengers and cyclists will be in place while work is carried out.

Image source, Leon Walsh

Britain's car industry risks losing out even if there is a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU, according to documents seen by the BBC.

Car parts from Japan and Turkey used in the UK will not be treated as British, so some exports may see higher tariffs.

In a letter, Britain's chief Brexit negotiator says the UK has failed so far to get the car parts deal it wants, and "obviously cannot insist on it".

Nissan, the Japanese company with 7,000 UK workers and a large factory in Sunderland, urged UK and EU "negotiators to work collaboratively towards an orderly balanced Brexit that will continue to encourage mutually beneficial trade".

Image source, Reuters

BBC Weather

It will be a mostly dry and fine day with sunny spells and variable cloud.

There will be a few isolated showers in the morning but it will become dry for all areas in the afternoon.

Temperatures will reach a high of about 13C (55F).

Good morning and welcome to Wednesday's live updates. We'll be bringing you news, sport, travel and weather from across the North East.

If you want to get in touch with any news or send us photos you can tweet, external us, contact us via our Facebook, external page or email us.

We'd love to hear from you.

The Union Chain Bridge has connected England and Scotland since it was built in 1820.

A man with terminal cancer who feared he would not see his son says being there for his birth was "great".

Newcastle avoid becoming Newport County's latest cup scalp as they win on penalties to reach the EFL Cup quarter-finals.

Our live updates have finished here for the day but this feed will continue to be updated with any breaking news and sport stories as well as travel updates.

You can also stay up to date on BBC Radio Newcastle, BBC Radio Tees and Look North.

We'll be back with more live updates from 08:00 tomorrow and hope you can join us then.

If you want to get in touch with any news or send us photos you can tweet , externalus, contact us via our Facebook , externalpage or email us.

Rothbury councillor Steven Bridgett says the "one size fits all" approach to rising coronavirus cases is not appropriate for his part of Northumberland.

In a letter to Northumberland's director of public health, Liz Morgan, he says it was becoming "increasingly difficult to justify these restrictions on such a blanket approach".

The latest restrictions were being driven by the high infection rates in Sunderland, Tyneside and South East Northumberland, he says.

But these are entirely different from areas like Rothbury "where I have more sheep than residents", he says.

Image source, Google

Alex Metcalfe
Local Democracy Reporter

New jobs have been promised on the back of the sale of a prominent council building.

Middlesbrough Council leaders approved the sale of the former Ayresome Industries building on Ayresome Road, near Newport Bridge, on Tuesday).

Council officials say the new buyer of the site, who hasn’t been revealed, will create new jobs as well as bringing the company’s existing workers to the town.

Image source, Google

The building on the entrance to Letitia Industrial Estate was emptied last year after the Middlesbrough Council deemed it surplus to requirements.

Ashley Waters, executive member for regeneration, said it was a "prominent piece of Middlesbrough's skyline", adding: "The property is going to have large and small workshops with offices – it’s about 2,000 square metres with a yard and external storage buildings.

The final price for the land has not been revealed with details discussed behind closed doors but it is known to be more than £150,000.

Ayrseome Industries employed dozens of disabled workers in Middlesbrough and was at the centre of a campaign to save it from cutbacks in 2012.

Labour asks how people can be expected to understand and follow rules if the PM himself does not.

Regeneration plans for an "outdated shopping precinct" are due to start, Durham County Council said.

Festival Walk, located in the heart of Spennymoor town centre, is being redeveloped following a £600,000 investment from the council.

A new free car park will be built on the former Kwik Save site while a "large part" of the centre will be demolished to make way for a new Aldi supermarket.

Image source, Durham County Council

Developers Hellens Group will then refurbish the remaining units, a council spokeswoman said. It is hoped this will help attract new businesses to the town and offer more choice to shoppers.

Work will begin on site on 12 October, with demolition planned to start after Christmas and work hoped to be completed by autumn 2021.

Carl Marshall, Durham County Council’s cabinet member for economic regeneration, said: “This redevelopment has been a long-standing project which has been a priority of both residents and businesses in the town and it is fantastic to see that our plans are finally becoming a reality."

A coronavirus testing centre is being opened in Durham City.

Durham County Council said the static centre in Durham University-owned Territorial Lane car park will be open seven days a week from 08:00 to 20:00 from 8 October.

While the new testing centre is being built, a mobile testing unit which visits Belmont Park and Ride has been relocated to Durham University’s Howlands car park on the outskirts of Durham City on certain days of the week.

Image source, Google

Lucy Hovvels, the council’s cabinet member for adult and health services, said: “This new testing centre will not only increase capacity but also improve accessibility for those who do not have a car. And the more people we can identify as having the virus, the more people will know they need to self-isolate, which will reduce the infection rate."

Testing is available for those either with coronavirus symptoms – a high temperature, a new, continuous cough, or a loss or change to sense or taste – or those who have been asked to get tested by a doctor or public health professional.

Appointments must be booked online, external or by calling 119. Results will be provided the next day.

A 79-year-old pedestrian suffered fractures to her elbow and wrist when she was struck by a car, police have said.

The woman was hit by a Ford Focus on Linthorpe Road towards Borough Road, at the Junction with Garnet Street in Middlesbrough on 18 September at 14:25, Cleveland Police said.

Officers area appealing for witnesses or anyone with dash cam footage to contact the force.