Metro staff given body-worn cameras

Nexus plans to increase the number of customer service advisors from 98 to 104

Staff on the Tyne and Wear Metro will be issued with body-worn cameras after a series of attacks.

Operator Nexus has ordered 45 cameras for customer service advisors to wear during their shifts.

Managers say while overall crime on the system has fallen, threats against employees have increased.

Nexus Metro services director Chris Carson said anti-social behaviour had reduced but "sometimes the seriousness of them... has gone up".

In March Nexus is due to begin a programme to replace CCTV cameras at stations, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The company's managing director, Tobyn Hughes, said: "Our job is to make passengers feel as safe as they can, and the exercise is to give the message that we do care and are trying to manage it."