PROTESTERS are currently causing disruption outside Amazon warehouses in the North East - with roads blocked and trucks lined up outside.

As part of a nationwide campaign, Extinction Rebellion are demonstrating outside Fulfilment Centres in Gateshead and Darlington against what they say are "crimes."

Follow live: Extinction Rebellion block Amazon Darlington and Gateshead

The group, which are also demonstrating at a dozen other sites across the UK, has deliberately chosen today as it is tipped to be one of the retailer's busiest days.

In a statement, it said: "The action is intended to draw attention to Amazon’s exploitative and environmentally destructive business practices, disregard for workers’ rights in the name of company profits, as well as the wastefulness of Black Friday."

Read more: Extinction Rebellion blocks Amazon depots on Black Friday causing travel chaos

However, Amazon has responded saying it takes its climate responsibilities "very seriously" and has already committed to be net zero carbon by 2040.

Meanwhile, it said it had generated a total UK tax contribution of £1.55bn in the last year alone.

But what goes on inside these warehouses? We've looked back at The Northern Echo's exclusive visit to Amazon Durham as it prepared for Black Friday, 12 months ago.

Take a look around below:

The Northern Echo: Picture: SARAH CALDECOTTPicture: SARAH CALDECOTT

We had a look round the site at the Integra 61 development, near Bowburn as it prepared for one of the retailer's busiest periods, Black Friday last November.

The Northern Echo: Picture: SARAH CALDECOTTPicture: SARAH CALDECOTT

Over 550,000 sq ft in size, more than 1,000 permanent and more than 1,000 seasonal workers were on its books as of this time, last year.

The Northern Echo: Picture: SARAH CALDECOTTPicture: SARAH CALDECOTT

The opening of Amazon Durham officially took place on September 6, 2020, months after the retailer opened its slightly smaller site in Darlington's Symmetry Park.

The Northern Echo: Picture: SARAH CALDECOTTPicture: SARAH CALDECOTT

At the time, Richard Thompson, who was the site's, said the warehouse's "volume" of orders had been continuing to climb ahead of Black Friday 2020.

The Northern Echo: Picture: SARAH CALDECOTTPicture: SARAH CALDECOTT

He said: "We've just launched, so our volume is continuing to climb and as we run into Black Friday, our customers will be ordering Christmas presents.

The Northern Echo: Picture: SARAH CALDECOTTPicture: SARAH CALDECOTT

"There's lots of sales going on so we expect that volume to continue and my job is to make sure we can meet those customer needs."

The Northern Echo: Picture: SARAH CALDECOTTPicture: SARAH CALDECOTT

Mr Thompson added: "We've prepared for this as we hired for launch, we hired more than 1,000 permanent associates and more than 1,000 seasonal staff and will continue to hire as the customer volume climbs."

The Northern Echo: Picture: SARAH CALDECOTTPicture: SARAH CALDECOTT

The site, which operates in much the same way to Amazon's Darlington site, features some of the retailer's latest technology.

The Northern Echo: Picture: SARAH CALDECOTTPicture: SARAH CALDECOTT

One worker, who picks items from the robotic shelves, said she had noticed a clear rise in the number of orders being processed by the team during the busier period.

The Northern Echo: Picture: SARAH CALDECOTTPicture: SARAH CALDECOTT

Danelle Ferguson said: "With Black Friday and Christmas, we're now starting to notice everything is picking up a lot more."

Items are stored “randomly”, but computer systems track every single item so that they can be later ‘picked’ by Amazon’s robotics system.

The Northern Echo: Picture: SARAH CALDECOTTPicture: SARAH CALDECOTT

In order to bring workers the products needed, the robots use AI technologies to map out the most efficient and sophisticated route using 2D barcodes.

The Northern Echo: Picture: SARAH CALDECOTTPicture: SARAH CALDECOTT

Conveyor belts reduce the need for workers to lift 'tote' boxes - all items within the site must fit in a regular size tote in order to be shipped.

The Northern Echo: Picture: SARAH CALDECOTTPicture: SARAH CALDECOTT

There is a lot of technology is used in the pack process - workers here scan items and the computer tells them what box size is required for each product’s size and weight.

The Northern Echo: Picture: SARAH CALDECOTTPicture: SARAH CALDECOTT

If the wrong item was accidentally packed, the order is routed off from the conveyor to individual workers.

The Northern Echo: Picture: SARAH CALDECOTTPicture: SARAH CALDECOTT

If an item does not match, a worker then sorts through and manually ensures the item still arrives at the correct place within the site.

The Northern Echo: Picture: SARAH CALDECOTTPicture: SARAH CALDECOTT

Although we were not given an exact figure of the number of products stored at the site, we were told there are millions of items held for dispatch.

The Northern Echo: Picture: SARAH CALDECOTTPicture: SARAH CALDECOTT

From Amazon Durham parcels go to a sort centre before being delivered to customers - items are shipped via all forms of routes, including by train, road, air and sea.

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