A NORTH-EAST port operator has secured a new ten-year deal with a famous tea and coffee maker.

PD Ports, which runs Teesport, has signed an agreement with Taylors of Harrogate, the firm behind Yorkshire Tea, for the firm to use its warehouses at Billingham, near Stockton.

Bosses say the deal will see £1.75m invested into PD Ports' Billingham warehouses, covering 115,000sq ft.

Taylors will use the site, with the company saying it marks a massive boost for business after it first started importing tea and coffee into Teesport five years ago.

David Robinson, PD Ports’ chief executive, said: “This investment signifies the growing significance many of the UK's major brands and retailers give to our services.

“We work very closely with customers to improve efficiency and lower supply chain costs, and this gives further strength to our long-term vision to develop Teesport as the hub for handling goods destined for Northern markets.”

Earlier this year, PD Ports celebrated the 50th anniversary of Tees Dock, which is part of its wider Teesport estate, and was the first dock to be built in the UK since the Second World War when it replaced Middlesbrough Dock.

Tessport handles about 34 million tonnes of cargo a year, including steel slab for Redcar iron and steelmaker SSI and goods for Tesco and Asda.

It also has a deal with transport firm MacAndrews for a weekly service to dock at Teesport, connecting it to Sweden and Poland.