TEN years ago, this week, King Kev returned to Newcastle United, sparking scenes of joy from Magpies' fans.

Club hero Kevin Keegan agreed to succeed Sam Allardyce as the club’s latest manager.

He said: "It's nice to be home. I'm delighted to be back."

Frank Gilmore, chairman of the Independent Newcastle United Supporters Club, said: "The football we played under Keegan was breathtaking, and no manager since has been able to live up to it. If he brings in Shearer it will be the icing on the cake."

On his return to the stadium the 56-year-old was greeted by supporters who chanted his name.

Prior to the announcement, the club had only sold 30,000 tickets for its next game – but after Keegan's return was confirmed, 20,000 more tickets were snapped up by fans, making the game a sell-out and delaying the kick-off by 15 minutes.

Elsewhere in the region, engineers were getting closer to completing work on Tornado, the country's first mainline steam locomotive to be built in 50 years.

The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust built the loco at its Hopetown Lane works, in Darlington.

Ten years ago, successful boiler tests were carried out and big crowds turned out for the trust's latest open day.

Tornado was scheduled to run on the mainline that September.

The first shovel of coal was put into the fire by Malcolm Crawley, who helped build the original locomotives in Doncaster in the Forties.

Mark Allatt, chairman of the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, said: "There were no problems. The day went fantastically. This is the culmination of 17 years' work.

"The tests were a phenomenal success.

"The inspector was looking all the way round for any leaks, but it was absolutely perfect."