PASSENGERS will be protected from the elements by a £600,000 scheme at a busy bus station.

Glazed panels are to be installed at the Park Lane Interchange, in Sunderland, which is used by thousands of people each week.

Panels will be installed between columns on the Park Lane side of the station.

The work will take place over 17 weeks between January and April and the panels are designed to block out wind and wind-blown rain.

Travel operator Nexus and Sunderland City Council say they are working closely to minimise disruption to passengers during the installation work.

The council's development and regeneration director, Phil Barrett, said: "Park lane Interchange has proved a great asset to the city with thousands of people using it each week to travel to work and visit the city.

"It's now the second busiest bus station in the country and we want to make sure all the people who use it find it as comfortable an environment as possible."