A pop-up vaccination centre has opened in a Middlesbrough shopping centre to encourage people to get a jab as the town has the highest rate of Covid infections in England.

Figures up to and including 7 January showed there were 3,111 people per 100,000 infected with coronavirus, a rise of 63% on the previous week, and more than 140 people are being treated for the virus in hospital.

Vaccination rates have lagged behind in Middlesbrough - barely three-quarters of residents have had a first jab - compared to 84% across the region as whole.

Dr Vaishali Nanda, from Middlesbrough Primary Care Network who was at the Cleveland Centre earlier, said: "We've had about 20 walk-ins this morning so it's giving people at work or out shopping another opportunity to get vaccinated."

The vaccines were being given by two retired GPs.

One - Dr Hilary Barton (pictured above) - said it was a "nice job to do."

Five men and a woman were arrested after officers spotted a suspected stolen car in Gateshead and followed it.

The car was followed by traffic officers and the police helicopter through Heworth and on to Sunderland Road on Monday morning where it stopped.

Five men got out, with two of them getting into a passing white car, which was also believed to have been stolen. It was later stopped in Wrekenton.

Both cars were seized and Northumbria Police said a search nearby found a bag filled with small packets of white powder, which had been thrown into a bush.

Two men, aged 17, and an 18-year-old, were arrested on suspicion of aggravated vehicle taking, while a 25-year-old woman and two men, aged 25 and 21, were arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle.

They have all since been released while investigations continue.

The Middlesbrough consultant said A&E had gone from "being bonkers-busy to just stupid-busy".

The item was "taken violently" by the British military during the Punitive Expedition in 1897.

Police have released a photo of a man they want to trace after a woman was sexually assaulted on a night out in Newcastle.

Northumbria Police said they wanted to speak to the pictured man after the woman told officers she had been grabbed in sexual manner outside the Livello bar in Lower Dean Street.

Image source, Northumbria Police

It happened at 01:25 BST on 25 September.

Police said they were looking at CCTV footage and urged anyone with information to contact them.

Lincoln City's Chris Maguire says his goal celebration in front of Sunderland boss Lee Johnson stemmed from the disappointing end to his time at the Stadium of Light.

If approved a business case would be drawn up to make use of a section of the disused Leamside line.

Chris Maguire scores a hat-trick on his return to the Stadium of Light as Lincoln to beat 10-man Sunderland 3-1 in an eventful match.

Newcastle United are closing in on the signing of New Zealand striker Chris Wood from Premier League relegation rivals Burnley.

French defender William Kokolo joins Burton Albion on a permanent deal from Middlesbrough.

Ion Onut, 41, is jailed for more than eight years for causing the deaths of three people in July.

Cardiff Rugby host Harlequins in the European Champions Cup and Newcastle travel to Biarritz in the European Challenge Cup - listen to BBC radio commentary.

The council leader says planning for such an event, which attracts thousands, was "difficult".