PR & Photography

Talented youngsters from the River of Music were joined by representatives from the Newcastle Theatre Royal, Northern Stage, and the Sage Gateshead to help launch the London 2012 Festival - an exciting 12 week long programme of events, featuring leading lights from the UK's diverse and thriving arts and culture scene ..

Dr Glyn Howatson from Northumbria University who has led research into cherry juice's ability to improve the length and quality of people's sleep ... The published study shows subjects increased their sleep time by around 25 minutes ...

Sunderland Goes Legally Blonde ... Liz McLarnon and Matthew Kelly who will be appearing together in the musical 'Legally Blonde' at The Sunderland Empire Theatre this Christmas ...

Pictured is Nigel McMinn, Managing Director of Benfield Motor Group, who will take immediate control of North East Audi, following today's announcement. Benfield have successfully completed the acquisition of North East business Colebrook and Burgess Ltd, who trade as North East Audi, for an undisclosed fee ...

Middlesbrough couple Christine and Michael McNeil celebrate their £100K Lotto win, with the iconic Middlesbrough Transporter bridge in the background - which is celebrating its 100th birthday this weekend ..

Stephen Haram, 20, is benefitting from an apprentice scheme launched by UK Asset Resolution (UKAR), the firm that manages the closed mortgage businesses of Bradford & Bingley (B&B) and Northern Rock Asset Management (NRAM) .. The scheme has created jobs for 9 young people - with a further 12 apprentices to be recruited this year ..

The grand opening of the new Disney Store at the Bridges Shopping Centre in Sunderland, where fans young and old queued eagerly - with one young fan dressed in a Minnie Mouse dress for the occasion..!

Disney On Ice boss Kenneth Feld greets the stars of the new show Worlds of Fantasy ahead of its world premiere last night.

The barge carrying the four huge modules for the Royal Navy's new Queen Elizabeth II Aircraft Carrier, passes under the Firth of Forth road bridge this afternoon on its journey to Rosyth. The four modules, that will form part of the flight deck and hanger of the Navy's new flagship, wiegh a total of 3000 tonnes and were completed ahead of schedule by the workforce at A&P shipyard in South Tyneside.

Pupils from Usworth Grange Primary School prepare for the Washington Heritage festival with Sunderland Councillor John Kelly, portfolio holder for Safer City and Culture.

Reg Curtis, the CEO of NAAFI, presents a cheque to Katie Wilson from Help for Heroes. The money was raised through the sale of NAAFI tea and their 90th anniversary book.

Young people from the Tony Blair Sports Foundation visit the Olympic Park in London. The trip was designed to use the Olympic ethos to inspire more children to become involved in sport and to let young people from the North East feel part of 2012.

Lord Peter Mandelson pictured at The Port of Tyne, with Nissan cars waiting for export ...

Sir Leonard Fenwick receives Honorary Degree from Northumbria University

Fred and Doreen Smith celebrate after winning a bumper £2,405,435 payout on the National Lottery

Olympic legends Steve Cram and Lord Sebastian Coe, who hold nine Gold medals between them, met at the Stadium of Light this week – but this time round they were not competing, but honouring a lifetime of outstanding achievement on and off the track.

Former Olympic athlete, Steve Cram MBE, pictured with fellow runner Rebecca Verrill, swapped his tracksuit for a matador outfit today at Hexham Mart and challenged fellow runners to ‘beat the bull’.  Steve’s encounter with bull called, Prince Charming, was to launch the first ever 10K race around the spectacular Bull Crag Peninsula at Kielder Water & Forest Park, Northumberland on the weekend of Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 October later this year.

James Hunter and his invention, an adjustable children's bike which grows in size with the child - saving £100's. James' design was made as his final project for the Design for Industry BA at the University of Northumbria.

Abby Thompson and her dog Dibdab

Sam Patterson sampling the millionaire lifestyle while purchasing a Euromillions ticket for this week's Tuesday draw at Mayfayre News in South Shields ...

A heavy metal operation has been successfully carried out in a double quick time as part of a £55m landmark order at a South Shields Tyneside yard. A highly complex job was completed as part of the prestigious contract to create parts at A&P Tyne, Hebburn, for a double Royal Navy aircraft carrier project. Work on sections for the HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales will provide emplymeny at the borough yard for several years to come.

Corbridge runner Matt Cawood is gearing for the challenge of a lifetime this week when he will tackle a gruelling 10 marathons in 10 days...and he has welcomed some support from local motor giant Benfield, who have kindly made a donation to help with his fund raising challenge.   Matt, aged 40, who runs his own fitness company transitionone, is raising funds for the Brathay Trust, which offers assistance to disadvantaged young people. He will start his mammoth 262 mile challenge this Friday in Cumbria.   "I love endurance sports and do Iron man competitions but running is my number one passion. I was one of only 17 people selected to take part so you have to prove you are made of strong stuff."   "I'm looking forward to my challenge and I am in great shape. I wish to thank all the people and local businesses who have made donations and I am hoping to raise over £3, 000 for the Brathay Trust." he added.   The notoriously gruelling charity event, which has been running for several years in Windemere totals 262 miles.

Retired miner Thomas Harwood won £1 million on the EuroMillionaire raffle.

A and P Tyne Project Manager Kenneth Pugh overseeing the handover of two Sub Sea arches heading for Nigerian oilfields on the Condock II.

The world-famous Harlem Globetrotters were in the North East today, meeting children from St. Oswalds Hospice, before their show at Newcastle Arena.

Children have earned their green fingers after planting the first saplings in a new green space as part of National Climate Week. The youngsters from Sunderland University’s St Mary’s childcare nursery planted the saplings at University Park on Chester Road. The planting marked the beginning of a push to create more green spaces in the University’s campuses. The aim is to make them more attractive to staff, students and visitors, while helping sustain indigenous wildlife in the city...

A fleet of new Nissan LEAF electric cars left the firm’s Sunderland plant yesterday as part of a six month test. Fourteen people are taking part in Switch EV, using the five-seater vehicle as their car for six months to experience and report on life with an electric car. The cars were handed over to the participants in the presence of Business and Enterprise Minister Mark Prisk, who also received a tour of the production facilities where the LEAF will be manufactured from 2013.

The North East has been showing off its funny side and getting caught up in all manner of Red Nose Day madness. Scores of fundraisers around the region whipped out their fancy dress costumes with a bucket in hand to collect as much money as possible for Comic Relief. The iconic Swing Bridge in Newcastle was even given a Comic Relief makeover as staff at the Port of Tyne attached a huge red nose on to the side ...

The Newcastle Eagles basketball team has urged would-be millionaires to buy their Euromillions tickets. The team was on hand at the Gateshead International Stadium to reveal tonight’s Euromillions draw will have a £90m jackpot up for grabs. If one lucky ticketholder in the North East were to win the entire jackpot, they would immediately leap to second in the exclusive National Lottery Rich List, just trailing the anonymous ticket-holder who banked £113 million last year.

The boats will be coming in at a South Tyneside shipyard after a £3 million revamp in a bid to win new orders. The new West Quay at A&P Tyne’s ship repair and fabrication yard in Hebburn is part of a £9m three year investment programme. Stewart Boak, managing director, said: “These are exciting times for the company, and we now have a first class facility that will allow us to grow the business for the future”.

Actor Stephen Tompkinson has hailed a cash boost to a theatre that will support young talent in the region. The Live Theatre yesterday sae a unique writers’ room named by the TV actor, who has been on stage in Newcastle in recent weeks. The Benfield writers’ room celebrates a £100,000 investment Live Theatre has received from the North East’s largest independent motor group, Benfield. The money will be used to support the wealth of education and outreach work to be carried out by the theatre over the next five years.

These children have been finding out all about a North East hero who helped turn the tide of the Second World War. Year 6 pupils at Waterville Primary School in North Shields, have been studying the 1939-1945 conflict this term. This week they were amazed to discover that war hero Tommy Brown had been a pupil at their school. Staff from the Navy, Army & Air Force Institutes (NAAFI) visited the primary school to teach the children about their organisation and also to tell them about Tommy’s incredible bravery.