Winds warning on major North road

Lorry drivers are being urged to avoid a major route in north-east England as high winds batter the region.

Police said conditions on the A68 between Castleside in County Durham and Broomhaugh in Northumberland on Friday afternoon were dangerous.

Drivers of high-sided vehicles should try to find another route, and other motorists should take extra care, said a spokesman for the Durham force.

A southbound stretch of the road has been closed as a precaution

The warning comes after a passenger ferry blew free from its moorings and collided with a decommissioned oil rig on Tyneside.