Derik Jones

Metro operator Nexus warned last month that it was predicting a £4.1m deficit this year and potential shortfall of £21.6m by 2023, which could lead to cuts to vital public transport services. New valuations of Nexus’ pension fund surplus mean that bosses now expect to save an extra £3.4m per year, which should guarantee that services are protected until at least 2022 without needing to use huge chunks of its £16m cash reserves. He told the North East Joint Transport Committee’s overview and scrutiny panel: “Unless anything else happens that we are not aware of, and we don’t think there is anything we ought to have taken into account, there ought to be a balanced budget in 2020/21 and in 2021/22, with a modest use of reserves. This year’s cash issues have been attributed to lower than expected Metro fare revenue, the cost of major repairs on the train network after catastrophic overhead line failures, and overtime paid to train crew because of staff shortages.

Diame was then ruled out after picking up an injury against Manchester United on January 2, and youngster Sean Longstaff filled in against Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup and Chelsea in the league. Those who have watched United this season have seen Schar's passing ability, and it's that sort of skill that the Magpies have missed with the injuries to Shelvey and Florian Lejeune. Now admittedly the stats show that Schar's passing accuracy was one of the worst in the game against Blackburn - 68.9 per cent,  but his 41 completed passes from the 60 attempted actually registered as third highest of the starting XI. While Diame has been crucial to United this season - the most interceptions, and tackles - and second highest for pass accuracy, partnering him with Hayden simple nullifies any threat United may have.

Mountain Rescue teams in Northumberland and Tyne & Wear have had a record number of incidents to cope with, double 2017's total Get the biggest daily stories by emailThank you for subscribingWe have more newslettersShow meCould not subscribe, try again laterLast year was the busiest on record for North East rescue teams who dealt with double the amount of incidents compared to 2017, with the Beast from the East playing a significant part. At the request of Northumbria Police and the North East Ambulance Service, Northumberland National Park and North of Tyne Mountain Rescue teams responded to 140 incidents across Northumberland and Tyne & Wear. The callouts included searches for lost walkers, rescues of climbers and mountain bikers, searches for individuals at risk missing from home in more urban areas, and dealing with the impact of extreme weather events – including the Beast from the East. Iain Nixon, leader of the Northumberland National Park team, said: “The Beast from the East had a significant part to play in the unprecedented rise in the number of incidents in 2018.