Paris attacks: South Shields man survived Bataclan shootings

A British survivor of one of the attacks in Paris has described how he lay on his girlfriend as people were shot dead around them.

Michael O'Connor from South Tyneside was at the Bataclan concert venue when gunmen opened fire.

He said the scene inside the concert venue was "like a slaughterhouse", and he thought he was going to die.

So-called Islamic State (IS) has said it carried out a series of attacks which left 129 people dead.

Mr O'Connor, from South Shields, said: "People [were] falling all over the place, people screaming and just clawing and running and pushing to get away.

"The attackers, I don't think I heard them saying anything or shouting anything or making any demands, they were just firing indiscriminately into the crowds."

The colours of the French flag were projected on to the facade of Durham Cathedral

The North East has joined other parts of the world in paying tribute to the victims.

Durham Cathedral was lit up in blue, white and red as part of its Lumiere Festival, and the words "je suis Paris" were also projected on to the River Wear.

The colours also illuminated Gateshead's Millennium Bridge and Berwick's Royal Border Bridge across the Tweed.

People in Newcastle paid tribute to the Paris victims

Flowers have been left outside the French Consulate at Dobson House in Gosforth, and a vigil was held at Newcastle's Old Eldon Square.