A huge fire has broken out in the North East of England with smoke seen for miles.

The blaze is believed to be at a factory on Durham Road, Birtley, near Gateshead.

Pictures and video posted on social media show the dramatic scene, with bright orange flames rising from the building.

Emergency services said they would remain at the scene for "several hours".

The building on fire is believed to be the former AEI cable factory, which shut down in 2017 after its parent company decided to close its manufacturing base and not pay redundancies. 200 of the firm's employees lost their jobs this week while another 40 were made redundant.

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