Police urge motorists not to drive 'unless absolutely necessary' as amber snow warning remains in place

The Met Office has upgraded its snow warning for the North East to amber alert. A yellow warning had previously been in place.

Sunderland and Durham are subject to the amber warning, while Hartlepool and the rest of Teesside is still within the yellow warning zone.

Officers from the Durham Constabulary have now issued their own warning.

It reads: "Another band of heavy snow is heading our way tonight: the Met Office has issued an Amber warning for large parts of County Durham starting at 9pm and continuing until 5am tomorrow.

"Anything up to 20 centimetres of snow is forecast along with strong winds, which means disruption is likely and we could well see road closures through the night.

"Our advice is don’t drive unless it’s absolutely necessary and if you really do have to venture out, avoid the back roads and be properly prepared for the conditions."