newcastlecentric

- A man has appeared in court charged with the murders of Zhen Xing Yang and Xi Zhou at their flat in Newcastle in August.

- Alan Shearer last night cut the ribbon on the official re-opening of M Steel Cycles in Gosforth, one of the oldest bike shops in the UK. The store was founded in 1894 and is owned by another Tyneside sporting legend, Joe Waugh, an Olympian and Commonwealth Games gold medalist.

- The QE2 is returning to the River Tyne next week before departing on her final ocean cruise. First launched by the Queen in 1967, the famous vessel will be visiting the Port of Tyne next Wednesday.

The Tour of Britain makes its first visit to the region on Friday, and with it arrive two Olympic Gold medal winners.

- A driver had a lucky escape after a rock was hurled at his windscreen as he drove through Boldon in the early hours of this morning.

- Gateshead Council has premiered a series of short films commissioned to celebrate the Angel of the North’s tenth anniversary and look at what the sculpture means to the local community.

There have been plenty of rumours and whispers about estates agents laying off staff and struggling to pay the bills, but little in the way of actual evidence.