Hello and welcome to The Chronicle’s live news blog.
We’ll bring you regular updates throughout the day of all the latest news and sport.
It’s Maria Cassidy here and I’ll keep you up to date with what’s going on in the North East, including the latest on the roads.
If you would like to contact us today about any breaking news, here is my contact information:
E-mail: maria.cassidy@reachplc.com
Twitter: @mariacassidy20
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