Teesside bridge becomes US star

Millions of Americans tuned into Teesside on Monday to watch a famous US television presenter fulfil a promise to her fans.

NBC Today's news anchor Ann Curry agreed to bungee jump from a bridge if viewers raised $10,000 for charity.

She chose Middlesbrough's Transporter Bridge because of a lack of "bungee bridges" on the USA's east coast.

Before her jump, Mrs Curry received encouragement from movie star Tom Hanks via a satellite link to the Today show.

The 51-year-old, who has reported from war zones across the world, confessed that the 225ft (69m) structure was probably the tallest bridge she had ever seen.

Afterwards, she said: "I was telling myself to experience every second, not to lose any of it by being afraid. To really enjoy every moment, and I did."

'Good day'

She received an extra boost for her chosen charities - Save the Children and The United Way - when a local resident handed her £10.

The Today show's news, broadcast from New York and regularly watched by more than six million people, has been presented by Mrs Curry since 1997.

John Snape, from the UK Bungee Club, said "all his Christmases came at once" when he received the phone call from NBC.

It was a good day for him and for Middlesbrough, he added.

The town's Grade II-listed structure is the only bridge in the UK to offer bungee jumping.