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Now that the festive season is over, work is underway to take down South Tyneside's festive lighting displays.

Each autumn, Â鶹ÊÓƵ and its street lighting partner, Balfour Beatty, start putting up the Borough's Christmas displays to ensure they are in place in time for the Christmas lights switch on events across South Shields, Jarrow and Hebburn.

In January, the lights are carefully removed and packed away ready for next Christmas. Those still in place on the 'Twelfth Night' (6 January) are switched off.

Councillor Joan Atkinson, Deputy Leader of Â鶹ÊÓƵ with responsibility for Culture and Leisure, said: "Each year, South Tyneside's displays help to spread festive cheer across the Borough.

"We had three wonderful switch-on events to help raise festive spirits throughout our communities as well as additional light installations to make more of our towns and villages sparkle in 2022.

"It takes several weeks to put up the displays and test them. Understandably, it can take just as long to take them down. The process involves carefully removing the lights across our towns and villages, checking them over and storing them away ready for next year.

"Due to the quantity of decorations across the Borough, it is simply not possible to take down all of the displays before the traditional 'Twelfth Night', although those still in place are switched off at this time.

"We hope residents and visitors enjoyed our displays and join us in looking forward to the 2023 festivities."

Building on the investment of previous years, additional lighting features for 2022 included a display on the Stanhope Road / Temple Park Road roundabout in South Shields. The 'shooting star' display was reinstated on the Monkton Lane roundabout junction with Mill Lane and new motifs were fitted to the lighting columns in the area.