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Mark Lawrenson takes on You Me At Six drummer and Manchester United fan Dan Flint to make predictions for this weekend's Premier League fixtures.

Hospitals with large critical care capacity are taking patients from other areas to ease pressures.

Freezing temperatures expected across England a day after snow hit ambulance services in Yorkshire.

Stuart Whincup
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The Ministry of Justice has extended a compensation scheme for former inmates who were physically abused at Medomsley detention centre, in County Durham.

The centre, which closed in 1988, held offenders aged between 17 and 21 who had committed relatively minor crimes.

Durham Police has received almost 1,900 complaints from men who have said they were beaten, punched or kicked at the centre.

In 2019 three former prison officers were found guilty of offences including assaults, wounding and misconduct at the former detention centre and two others were jailed for misconduct.

Previously compensation had only been paid when officers were convicted of committing a crime, but that's changed and now former inmates can make a claim against officers even if they haven't been convicted.

The amount varies from £1,750 to £5,000 depending on the length of time they served and the extent of their injuries.

No date has yet been set for when the compensation scheme will end.

Claims for those who were sexually abused are being handled separately.

A former University of Sunderland student has landed two roles in film and TV.

Chris Farfouris, who was studying screen performance, auditioned for a key character role in a new television drama set in Spain and landed the lead role in a new film calls Shakespeare has Died, which will start production later this year in South America.

The 20-year-old, who is originally from Greece, credits part of his success to the skills he gained on Wearside during his Screen Performance degree.

He also thanked his tutors for allowing him to complete his course work online while filming in Spain.

Image source, Chris Farfouris

Chris said: "My tutors have been incredibly supportive during this huge opportunity, and for me, online learning has been fantastic, I was able to be really creative."

Being a multilingual actor and artist, Chris speaks Greek, English, Spanish, French and Italian and he sings and plays piano.

Newcastle boss Steve Bruce says criticism of his tenure has been “personal from day one” but he “won’t give in”.

North Tyneside Council has urged people who can't work from home to take part in its rapid community testing programme to tackle the spread of the Covid-19.

It's designed to provide results within an hour and is for workers who could have the virus - without showing symptoms, to stop them passing it onto others.

The council said residents such as taxi drivers, tradespeople, social workers and nursery staff are eligible to free tests at Riverside Children’s Centre, North Shields from Monday 18 January.

It's also available to people who are a close contact of someone who is clinically extremely vulnerable to the virus.

Image source, Reuters

Wendy Burke, North Tyneside's public health director said: "Up to a third of people with Covid-19 may not display symptoms but are still infectious and can spread the virus.

"We need to break the chains of transmission, so we can reduce infection rates, look after our loved ones and protect the NHS,"

The council said the testing site will be opened seven days a week and appointments can be booked .

So far 433,000 people across the North East and Yorkshire have been vaccinated, including 46% of over 80s.

Follow live text updates from Saturday's final Championship game as Barnsley host second-placed Swansea City.

Hartlepool Council is asking people to avoid Seaton Carew promenade if it's busy and try a local park for exercise instead.

The authority is concerned about large numbers of people walking, running and cycling along coast, especially at weekends.

Sarah Scarr, the Council’s Heritage and Countryside Manager, said: “The town’s parks are a fantastic resource and have an important role to play in helping people to stay fit and healthy during the pandemic.

“They should not enter a play area if they are unable to stay two metres apart from others and they should use all parts of a park or open space to ensure that a safe distance can be maintained from others.”

Image source, Google

Passengers are at about 15% of normal levels, although just 1 in 10 are not complying with rules.

James Harrison

People not wearing masks while travelling on the Tyne and Wear Metro could be fined by staff, under proposals being discussed.

Bosses say one in 10 passengers aren't sticking to the rules on face coverings, but currently enforcement is up to police.

Discussion have begun over whether Metro Staff could enforce mask-wearing, similar to the way it works in London, with fines and prosecutions possible.

It's also been suggested similar measures could be rolled out on North East buses.

Martin Kearney, Metro's Chief Operating Officer, said: “That is something we really want to bring in for the Metro system and the wider transport systems of the North East."

Passenger numbers on Metro services have slumped to about 15 per cent of normal levels due to the pandemic.

Ice has been causing problems across the North East after temperatures dipped to well below zero overnight.

Police have been dealing with multiple accidents caused by black ice on the Coast Road in North Tyneside.

The road was closed in both directions and, although it's since reopened eastbound, remains closed westbound. Police say many routes are extremely icy so travelers are being urged to drive slowly.

Temperatures reportedly dropped to -6C in parts of Northumberland.

There's a weather warning in place until 10:00 followed by another weather warning for snow and ice tomorrow.

The health trust says it is "working to reduce restrictive interventions" at the Newcastle units.

A Met Office yellow weather warning for ice is in place after heavy snow caused road closures and travel disruption.

Councillors back a 1.6% fare rise on the Tyne and Wear Metro - seeing most tickets increase by 10p.

More than 45% of this priority group has now been vaccinated, compared with about 30% in London.

Middlesbrough striker Rumarn Burrell joins League two side Bradford City on loan until the end of the season.

Clubs from Super League to League One agree to delay their season kick-offs while Covid-19 restrictions are in place.

Middlesbrough Town Hall's boss stood down in 2019 in protest at the comedian playing at the venue.