A crossing under the River Tyne has closed for six days for maintenance.

The Tyne pedestrian and cycle tunnels are shut until 06:00 BST on Tuesday so work can be carried out on the lifts.

The Grade II-listed structure, which opened in 1951 at a cost of £833,000, links Howdon on North Tyneside to Jarrow on South Tyneside.

A replacement bus service with a cycle trailer is running between 06:00 and 22:00 BST and has the capacity for 16 people and bikes at a time.

A Q&A posted on the tunnels’ website asked why they could not be kept open with people using the escalators, but it said because cyclists can only use the lifts “a decision has been made to safeguard the safety of all users and close the tunnels while essential works are carried out”.

The vehicle tunnels are unaffected.

Article from BBC