The ban on households mixing in indoor settings will be enforceable by law and subject to fines.

Luke Jobson's body was found in the River Tees after he went missing following a night out in Yarm.

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Local Democracy Reporting Service
Daniel Holland

Local lockdown measures in the North East are being tightened in a bid to stop Covid-19 cases increasing further.

Health secretary Matt Hancock has announced that people from different households will be banned from mixing indoors in any setting.

Under the regulations that came into force on 18 September, almost two million people in Newcastle, Northumberland, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland, and County Durham were banned from socialising with other people outside their own households or support bubbles in private homes and gardens.

People were also advised not to socialise with people outside their household in any public venue either.

That was only guidance and not banned under law although that now looks set to change.

Pubs, restaurants and other hospitality venues also remain limited to table service only and have a 22:00 curfew.

Mr Hancock (pictured) did not announce when the stricter measures would begin.

The venue, which has been closed since lockdown began, faces a £10m loss in revenue.

Nine-year-old Sophie has collected more than 370 bags of rubbish in a bid to clean up her town.

A man's been seriously hurt in an accident which has closed part of the A1 at Stannington in Northumberland this afternoon.

An investigation's underway after a car travelling northbound left the carriageway.

Its male driver has been taken to hospital with what police say are "potentially life-threatening injuries."

Motorists are asked to avoid the area and the northbound carriageway has been closed, with local diversions in place.

Newcastle City Council has raised its Covid Control position to Red+.

It means more partnership working across city and co-ordinating a consistent approach across the region.

The Northumbria Local Resilience Forum, which includes Northumbria Police, both Universities and NHS partners, has declared a major incident.

The city council will publish a Daily Dashboard at 16:00 on the City Councl's website, showing the latest number of positive cases across the city,

Newcastle now has the 5th highest infection rate in the country standing at 203 per 100,000 people.

Image source, Newcastle City Council

It will crunch the numbers of local and national data provided by Public Health England and ONS to show the number of positive cases over the last week and a clear indication of the trend in transmission.

The artwork will show the number of new cases over the past 7 days, a comparative figure to the week prior and the rate of cases per 100,000 in Newcastle, the North East and nationally.

Councillor Irim Ali, cabinet member for Public Health and Neighbourhoods said, “The continuing rise in cases across Newcastle is alarming, we must all do our bit to prevent the virus spreading further and to flatten the curve".

Find out more here., external

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Ben O'Connell

A £750,000 boost for Blyth town centre has been confirmed by the Government.

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick announced that seven towns in the North East will be receiving up to £1m, including £750,000 for Blyth.

Ian Levy, the Blyth Valley MP, said: “Bowes Street and the surrounding streets form a retail area with so much potential and some great businesses. But over a long period of time, this northern gateway to the town centre has suffered from neglect with the public realm tired and in very poor condition.

“In early summer, I was asked by the Government for projects that were ‘shovel-ready’ and could be brought forward as part of the Town Deal for Blyth. A scheme with Bowes Street at the heart was the obvious choice with funding not previously available to make improvements on this scale."

Daniel Holland
Local Democracy Reporter

A Newcastle Quayside building with dangerous Grenfell-style cladding has been refused government cash to make it safe.

Managers of the St Ann’s Quay apartment block have been unsuccessful in a first bid to secure funding for the removal of its aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding.

In July it was revealed that the 10-storey building was the subject of major fire safety concerns due to its ACM panels.

But the site has not been deemed eligible for support from the government’s £200 million private sector ACM cladding remediation fund.

St Ann’s Quay’s management is now pinning its hopes on a bid to a second funding pot, the £1bn Building Safety Fund, to pay for the vital safety works.

Louise Richley, director at St Ann’s Quays management Ltd, said that the situation was incredibly concerning for leaseholders of the building’s 91 flats, with estimates for the potential cost of making the building safe starting at £1.5 million.

She added that multiple safety issues that have only recently emerged were unfair on residents who have bought relatively new apartments on a prime Quayside spot and are now unable to sell their properties.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government refused to confirm why St Ann’s Quay funding bid was rejected.

Around a quarter of the building has cladding on it, mostly at the upper floors, but there are ACM-covered columns that run the length of it and large decorative fins on the St Ann’s Street side.

Sunderland's popular Houghton feast event goes online next month.

Organisers say it will feature on platforms including Facebook and You Tube with a virtual opening ceremony on Friday 2 October.

There is no carnival parade this year instead there's the chance to relive those of bygone years with footage of past Carnival Parades and a virtual fancy dress competition.

The Big Houghton Feast Quiz is on Zoom on Monday 5 October.

It has been confirmed 110 staff at Sage Gateshead are losing their jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The venue says it has to act to try to recover from an expected £10 million pound loss caused by the pandemic.

A spokesperson said: “Like many organisations across all sectors, Sage Gateshead has had to find ways of controlling the financial impact of the pandemic. This has involved some incredibly difficult decisions, this being the hardest of all.

"Each and every one of the Sage Gateshead team are highly skilled and dedicated, and it is with deep regret that 110 of our friends and colleagues will be leaving us.”

The charity has tried to avoid job losses.

It's Recovery and Renaissance fundraising campaign has so far raised £300,000.

And it used Government support packages including the Corona Virus Job Retention Fund, furloughing most of its staff.

But the measures weren't enough.

BBC Weather

A bit warmer today, with temperatures of 15C (59F)

A weather front will push in from the west and track eastwards through the day, bringing a spell of rain before clearing to the east later in the evening.

Staying mostly dry tonight with clear spells developing.

And you can follow the latest forecast, by clicking here and searching for your location.

Could a near total lockdown be on the cards for the North East?

According to The Times the Prime Minister is considering new measures to bring covid cases under control which could include closing all pubs, restaurants and bars for at least two weeks.

Households would also be banned from mixing in any indoor location.

The Health and Care minister Helen Whately refused to rule the idea out.

There's been some reaction on Teesside as the BBC's Richard Moss has been Tweeting.

Volunteers from across the North East are being invited to join a coronavirus vaccine study.

It will test the safety and effectiveness of a vaccine developed by a US company that appears to train the immune system to fight Covid-19.

The study's being run from the University Hospital of Hartlepool. The government has secured 60 million doses of the vaccine for the UK in case it proves successful and they'll be made in Stockton.

Early tests showed the jab leads to high levels of virus-fighting antibodies being produced. However, it will take months before it is clear if the vaccine is safe and effective.

Image source, Novavax

BBC Sport

A letter sent to the Government warning of the collapse of football has been signed by Sunderland shareholder Charlie Methven and a number of high profile figures.

Former FA Chairmen Greg Dyke and Lord Triesman are among those calling for an emergency support package from Ministers.

They say many EFL and National League clubs are now preparing to "cease playing... and put their business into administration".

They want government help for lower league clubs, for them to be compensated for the loss of ticket revenue during winter, because fans are not able to return to grounds.

The Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden says he hopes that the Premier League would help with a bail-out.

Dramatic waves and high winds hit the North East coast at the weekend.

PA photographer Owen Humphreys was at Tynemouth where he saw this ferry battling a rough sea,

Image source, Owen Humphreys/PA Wire

BBC Radio Tees

People in the Tees Valley are being asked to consider not mixing with different households due to a sharp rise in coronavirus infection rates.

The recent rises mean Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton have been added to the government's watch list and they will be offered "additional resources" such as more mobile testing units.

If rises continue this week, tighter restrictions could be introduced like in the County Durham council area.

Karen King, deputy leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council, said: "Public Health England told us 84% of the cases in our area at the moment were spread through household-to-household contact.

"We're just asking people to follow the guidelines and be cautious."

Thousands of new university students have moved into halls of residence across the region despite calls to teach from home amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The government has defended students' arrivals, but Labour says it should consider pausing their return as many parts of the country are seeing a sharp rise in infection rates.

Shadow education secretary Kate Green said the start of term should be delayed while an "effective, efficient testing system" is put in place.

The Department for Education said it was working closely with universities.

Earlier this month, public health chiefs in Newcastle said the arrival of 50,000 students in the city would be a serious problem. Universities in the North East said they have measures in place to limit the spread of the virus.

An investigation is continuing into the death of a six-year-old girl who was hit by a falling tree at school.

Emergency services were called to Gosforth Park First School in Newcastle at about 13:15 BST on Friday, but the youngster died in hospital the following day.

Floral tributes have been placed outside the school, which is closed to all pupils today. Head teacher Leanne Lamb said she was "shocked and devastated" by the tragedy.

Police are working with the Health and Safety Executive to determine the circumstances of the incident.