A tinplate toy car described as "extremely rare" has sold at auction for £25,000.

A bidding war broke out for the German "Bing Brake" clockwork car, which dates from 1902, with interest on the internet and telephone.

It was sold to a telephone bidder - for double the price Stockton-based auctioneers Vectis had estimated.

Image source, Vectis

The 10in (25cm) toy car, which is still in working order, originally belonged to a family in Nuremberg who did not allow their children to play with it, auctioneers said.

A Vectis spokesperson said: "This model car is one of the rarest of the well-known Bing large-scale tinplate clockwork cars and is the first such example that Vectis have had."

Work is continuing to make the area safe around eight flats damaged by a gas explosion in Sunderland.

Demolition started on Wednesday on the two flats at the centre of the Whickham Street blast, which happened on Tuesday afternoon.

Two men were taken to hospital with "blast injuries".

The condition of the man injured in the first-floor flat deteriorated on Tuesday evening and he remains in hospital in a critical but stable condition.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive will continue for the rest of this week.

A spokesperson for Gentoo, the housing association that owns the building, said: "We will attempt to fully clear the two flats that were directly impacted by the explosion.

"We will then assess the damage to the adjoining properties to understand what the possible next steps could be."

Image source, TWFRS

The deputy chief fire officer of Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS) Peter Heath has praised crews sent to the scene.

He said: "You only have to look at the damage caused to the property to know that it is very fortunate only two people have been injured."

A woman who runs a village post office currently without power for the third time in as many months says the power cuts are making her business impossible to run.

Residents in Kirkwhelpington, Northumberland, have been without power since 15:00 GMT on Wednesday when Storm Dudley hit.

Postmistress Eileen Rogerson said she could not open without a computer and being able to access the electricity-powered safe.

She said: "This is the third time we've been cut off, we had Storm Arwen in November and another in January and now this."

Image source, Google

Northern Powergrid said it hoped to reconnect supplies to Kirkwhelpington later, but Ms Rogerson said the expected time kept changing.

"We did have word to say power would be restored tonight and I've had a text to say it could be 14:00 but someone has just called to say it could be tomorrow night," she said.

"A generator has been brought in but it's not been assembled yet."

The power company has provided a food truck with hot drinks and hot food for the village.

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About 1,200 homes across the North East remain without power as engineers continue to reconnect power lines damaged by Storm Dudley.

Northern Powergrid says more than 20,000 homes and businesses were affected by the gusts of up to 70mph.

Image source, PA Media

Engineers have worked through the night to restore supplies.

A spokesperson for Northern Powergrid said: "There is a possibility that a small number [of reconnections] will run into Friday as the weather is unlikely to hamper our work today but the detailed requirements of some of the work is still unknown."

A pedestrian has been killed in a crash which shut the A19 near Sunderland.

The woman, who has not been identified, was hit by a car on the carriageway between the A690 and the A183 shortly before 01:00 GMT on Wednesday.

The 33-year-old driver of the car was taken to hospital with serious injuries, which were not said to be life-threatening.

Image source, Northumbria Police

Sgt Dave Roberts from Northumbria Police’s Motor Patrols department said: "This is an incredibly tragic incident and our thoughts go out to the woman’s family and friends at this time.

"An investigation has been launched to establish the circumstances surrounding the collision and we ask that the family’s privacy is respected as they attempt to come to terms with what has happened."

He urged anyone who was in the area and saw what happened to contact police.

Northern England and Scotland are dealing with the impact of Storm Dudley, as Storm Eunice looms.

Hot food is being offered to people without power in two Northumberland villages.

In Kielder there are currently 156 homes without electricity, and engineers are hoping power will be restored by 16:00.

Free food, provided by Northern Powergrid, will be available at Kielder Post Office from 11:30.

In Kirkwhelpington it is hoped power will be reconnected to 74 homes by 20:00, and hot food is available from 10:00 from the Memorial Hall.

Northern Powergrid has asked people to check on their neighbours and "ensure they are aware of the hot food facility".

Image source, Google

The death of a baby, who was airlifted to hospital from a home in Chilton, is being treated as "unexplained".

Paramedics were called at about 14:30 on Wednesday and the infant was taken to hospital by air ambulance.

Police say the child died shortly after arrival at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary.

Image source, GNAA

A spokeswoman for Durham Constabulary said: “Enquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding the baby’s death, which is currently being treated as unexplained.”

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Northern Powergrid says it is working to reconnect about 280 homes in the Coxhoe area of County Durham still affected from power losses caused by Storm Dudley.

The company restored power to about 19,000 properties in the North East after high winds hit the region on Wednesday.

Chris Wilson, from Coxhoe, told BBC Radio Newcastle it had been a long night with no electricity.

"It's been very cold with the power going on and off between 18:00 and 20:00 but by 20:30 it was all off and is still off," Mr Wilson said.

"I just had to go to bed and I'm worried all the food in the freezer is getting wasted because we don't know how long it's going to go on for."

Image source, Google

Metro trains will remain suspended on the line between North Shields and Tynemouth until Sunday while repairs to storm damage continue.

Trains are still not running on two sections of the Tyne and Wear Metro because of storm damage.

Services between North Shields and Tynemouth are suspended until further notice after a wall collapsed.

The route between Hebburn and South Shields has been closed in both directions after a tree fell on to an overhead line.

Services on other parts of the network are also being affected.

Metro tickets and passes can be used on buses. More details are available here, external.

Image source, NEXUS

Image source, Nexus

The Attorney General says Ion Onut's eight-year sentence does not meet the criteria.

Tom Rodwell's 12-year term for raping women he met on the dating app is ruled "not unduly lenient".

One electricity company warns "the peak is still ahead" after 14,000 people lost power in the storm.