A CALL has been made for further investment in a struggling North-East village.

Chopwell, in Gateshead, has been hit by the growth of out-of-town shopping complexes such as the MetroCentre.

Many shops and businesses have closed as a result of the lack of the trade.

Now the local Liberal Democrat group has written to Government Ministers and Gateshead Borough Council to call for action to help improve the local economy.

Peter Maughan, parliamentary spokesman for Blaydon, whose constituency Chopwell is in, said he had visited the village to speak to shopkeepers.

Mr Maughan, who is touring all the town centres in the Blaydon constituency, said: "I am concerned to see how many shops are closed and boarded up.