Winger Ben Stevenson signs a new two-year deal with Newcastle Falcons to run until the end of 2022-23.

Rival Byker councillor Nick Kemp fails in his bid at the Labour group's AGM to take over the role.

Former striker Alan Shearer recalls how Newcastle United held an open-top bus parade despite losing the FA Cup final in 1998 and 1999

A cannabis farm has been discovered at a former church in Bishop Auckland.

Acting on a tip-off, officers raided St Peter's last night, and found 1,200 plants, along with men in the process of moving them out.

Four men have been arrested and are in police custody.

Insp Peter Lonsdale of Durham Constabulary, said: "We will always do everything we can to disrupt the chain of illegal drugs and that's exactly what we did."

The church closed for worship in December 2013.

A dog owner stuck waist deep in the river bank at Maiden Castle in Durham has been rescued by firefighters.

The water rescue team from Durham fire station and crews from Spennymoor were called to the scene earlier this afternoon.

The dog's owner had gone into the river Wear to rescue their pet Sonny.

Firefighters used throw lines to rescue the owner and the dog.

Image source, CDFRS

Manufacturers based in the new economic zones could miss out on key markets, Labour says.

Richard Moss
Political editor, North East & Cumbria

From masked counting of votes to a mayoral candidate getting Covid, 2021’s local elections in the North East were unique.

But in many ways they marked a continuation of political trends that pre-date the pandemic.

Any hopes Labour had of a rapidly bouncing back from losses suffered in the 2019 General Election have been blown away. The party’s 2021 losses were often in the same areas where they struggled then.

The situation in the Teesside area looks particularly serious.

The loss of another MP to the Conservatives in Hartlepool - Jill Mortimer (pictured) is the town's first Tory MP in the current constituency's history - a landslide victory for Ben Houchen in the mayoral race, and another clear Tory win in the Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner election bear the stamp of a long term shift in loyalties.

The area’s remaining two Labour MPs will be worried they could be next.

Image source, PA Media

Then there was Labour’s loss of Durham County Council after almost a century of control.

Defeats again often came in communities which have Conservative MPs. Places like Ferryhill, Spennymoor, and Tudhoe now have Tory councillors - something once unthinkable.

Sunderland could be next - another year of losses leaves Labour’s hold looking fragile. The party’s three MPs may be feeling edgy.

Labour’s crumbs of comfort came through retention of police commissioner posts in Northumbria and Durham, and continuing dominance in Tyneside.

The Conservative vote rose there too, but they could not break back into the council chambers of Newcastle and Gateshead.

But the scale of Tory advances elsewhere mean that is of little concern to the party. Instead any pressure on the big winners of 2021 will be about delivery.

Where once they were the insurgents, they are now the establishment. Voters may give them time to deliver on promises of investment, but eventually blaming opponents for problems in the communities they now represent will be less convincing.

Durham County Council's Labour group is expected to elect Simon Henig's replacement at the weekend.

A small town with no European pedigree, Middlesbrough produced a series of heroic comebacks to reach the Uefa Cup final 15 years ago.

Bringing you the latest news from across the North East from Monday 10 May to Friday 14 May 2021

Oxford United boss Karl Robinson receives a four-game touchline ban after being found guilty of improper conduct against Sunderland.

Sunderland will face Lincoln in the League One play-offs after finishing the regular season with a 1-1 draw against relegated Northampton.

Richard Moss
Political editor, North East & Cumbria

With Labour losing overall control of Durham County Council for the first time in a century, discussions will need to take place.

The party lost 21 seats in Thursday's vote leaving it with 53 of the authority's 126 councillors - 11 short of a majority.

Independents and smaller parties won 31 seats, a collective gain of three.

The Conservatives secured 24 seats, a gain of 14, with the Liberal Democrats taking a total of 17 across the county, up three.

Labour clearly needs to do a deal with someone. The Lib Dems or some of the independents seems most likely.

There's not really a rainbow coalition as an alternative to Labour minority admin.

Image source, Durham County Council

Discussions are expected to take place around forming a coalition with other councillors.

Newcastle Falcons run in five second-half tries to seal a 52-27 win over London Irish after trailing at half-time.

Sam Barratt's hat-trick helps 10-man Maidenhead defeat promotion-chasing Hartlepool.

Labour's Norma Redfearn got almost 14,000 more votes than Conservative Steven Robinson.

Wycombe's relegation from the Championship is rubber-stamped despite finishing with a convincing victory at Middlesbrough.

Conservatives win the most number of seats, but the authority is likely to remain coalition-led.

Luke Walton
BBC Look North

Perhaps I should have brought my sleeping bag to the Durham Police and Crime Commisisioner and Durham County Council counts - it's currently two or three hours behind schedule with a recount for the PCC due to "discrepancies".

Labour were a nose ahead before.

It's unclear what the recount means for the result.

Either way it's a long day ahead - the final ward count starts at 20:00.